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Purchased   by  the   Hamill   Missionary   Fund, 


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India 

and  Christian 

ODDortunitv 

INDIA 


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CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 


INDIA 


FEB  20  1912 


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CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 


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BY 


HARLAN  P.  BEACH,  M.A.,  F.  R.G.S. 


NEW  YORK 

STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 

FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

1908 


Copyright,  1904,  by 

STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 

FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


PREFACE 

The  present  volume  is  the  twenty-seventh  in  a  series 
of  text-books  prepared  primarily  for  the  use  of  vokm- 
tar}[jnissipn^study  classes  in  the  institutions  for  higher 
learning  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  This  fact 
will  account  for  certain  typographical  peculiarities  and 
also  for  the  material  presented.  A  correspondence, 
extending  over  eight  years,  with  leaders  of  such  classes 
in  more  than  six  hundred  institutions  has  determined 
the  selection  of  a  larger  proportion  of  general  infor- 
mation relating  to  the  geography,  ethnography,  and 
religions  of  India  than  appears  in  the  ordinary  volume 
on  that  country.  At  the  same  time  the  facts  that  the 
Empire  is  occupied  by  toward  a  hundred  Protestant 
missionary  societies,  representing  various  branches  of 
the  Church,  and  that  the  students  enrolled  in  the  classes 
also  belong  to  some  fifty  denominations,  have  prevented 
more  than  the  merest  allusion  to  the  work  of  any  given 
society  or  Church.  The  reader  must  look  elsewhere 
for  particulars  concerning  the  activities  of  his  own 
society,  if  more  information  is  desired  than  is  found 
in  the  Appendixes. 

The  author  is  under  obligations  to  the  literature  re- 
ferred to  in  the  footnotes  and  in  the  brief  bibliography 
of  Appendix  A.,  as  well  as  to  the  larger  number  of 
volumes  which  he  has  made  use  of  in  a  less  direct  wav. 


VI  PREFACE 

He  desires,  also,  to  express  his  warmest  thanks  to  five 
well-known  Indian  missionaries,  who  have  kindly  read 
the  manuscript  or  the  proof,  and  whose  criticisms  have 
done  much  to  correct  the  individual  equation.  In  order 
to  secure  a  wider  corrective  from  the  entire  field,  ex- 
perienced workers  from  different  sections  were  asked 
to  render  this  service.  Thus  Rev.  C.  A.  R.  Janvier  was 
born  and  has  labored  for  many  years  in  North  India; 
Mr.  J.  Campbell  White  has  resided  long  in  Calcutta; 
Rev.  J.  H.  Wyckoff,  D.D.,  has  labored  for  more  than 
two  decades  in  South  India;  Rev.  E.  S.  Hume,  D.D., 
was  born  and  has  for  nearly  thirty  years  wrought  in 
(Western  India ;  while  Mr.  G.  S.  Eddy,  though  latterly 
laboring  in  South  India,  has  been  obliged  by  his  offi- 
cial duties  to  travel  extensively  throughout  the  Empire. 
Any  value  that  the  volume  may  possess  is  largely  due 
to  the  pruning  process  through  which  the  material  has 
thus  passed.  These  gentlemen,  however,  should  not  be 
held  responsible  for  the  literary  form  of  the  volume, 
nor  is  it  probable  that  they  would  desire  to  subscribe 
to  every  statement  which  it  contains.  The  author  like- 
wise desires  to  express  his  gratitude  to  the  American, 
Presbyterian  and  Methodist  Boards  for  photographs 
reproduced  in  the  volume.  As  the  joint  product  of  a 
number  who  earnestly  desire  the  speedy  evangelization 
of  so  great  an  Empire,  this  little  volume  is  commended 
to  the  thoughtful  reading  and  study  of  all  who  long 
for  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  this  land  of 
vast  populations  and  no  less  colossal  needs. 

December,  Jpoj. 

Note :     Chapter  IX  of  this  edition  was  written  in  the 
summer  of  1908, 


CONTENTS 


I.   The  Physical  Environment i 

I.  Names  and  their  significance,  1,2.  II.  General  view,  3-5. 
III.  India's  four  great  regions,  6-12.  IV.  India's  natural  re- 
sources, 12-15.    V.  Climatic  features,  15-19. 

II.    Some  Historical  Factors 20 

I.  The  Aboriginal  background,  21-24.  II.  The  Vedic  Age, 
24-33.  I^I-  The  Epic  Period,  34-41.  IV.  P-eriod  of  territorial 
and  intellectual  expansion,  41-48.  V.  Period  of  Buddhistic 
ascendency,  48-55.  VI.  The  Puranic  period,  55-61.  VII. 
Period  of  Mohammedan  rule,  61-65.  VIII.  Continental 
European  contact,  65-69.     IX.  The  British  in  India,  69-74. 

III.  Races  and  the  Common  Life       75 

I.  Some  facts  based  on  the  Census,  75-78.  II.  The  races  of 
India,  78-84.  III.  Languages  and  literature,  84-87.  IV.  The 
common  life,  87-106.    V.  The  Government  of  India,  106-108. 

IV.  The  Religious  Life  of  To-day 109 

I.  The  Census  of  1901,  109,110.  II.  India's  minor  faiths, 
110-116.  III.  Mohammedanism,  116-121.  IV.  Hinduism, 
121-145.     V.  Pilgrimages  and  holy  men,  145,146. 

V.    Christianity  in  India       147 

I.  St.  Thomas  and  Pantaenus,  147-150.  II.  Nestorians  and 
the  Syrian  Church,  150-153.  III.  Catholic  missions  in  India, 
153-159.  IV.  Early  Dutch  Protestant  effort,  160,  161.  V. 
The  Danish-Halle  pioneers,  161-166.  VI.  The  Anglo-Saxon 
beginnings,  166-175.  VII.  Indian  Christianity  of  the  last 
century,  i 76-181. 

VI.    Ways  of  Working 182 

I.  Evangelizing  the  masses.  182-189.  II.  Work  for  India's 
women,  1S9-194.  III.  Educational  work,  194-201.  IV.  Medi- 
cal missionary  effort,  202-207.  V.  Christian  literature,  207-209. 
VI.  Work  for  the  Native  Church,  210-217. 


Vlll  CONTENTS 

VII.    Problems  and  Opponents 218 

I.  Modern  objection  to  Indian  missions,  218-220.  II. 
Caste  problems,  220-222.  III.  Problems  connected  with 
new  converts,  222-224.  IV.  Embarrassments  due  to  mass 
movements,      22ef-22T.     V.  Economic     problems,      227-229. 

VI.  The    question    of    a    self-supporting    church,    229-233. 

VII.  Securing  self-government,  233-235.  VIII.  Self-ex- 
tension of  the  Native  Church,  235.  IX.  Educational  prob- 
lems, 236-238.  X.  Ferment  of  religious  ideas,  238:i£££: 
XL  The  Government's  attitude,  242,  243.  XII.  The  mis- 
sionaries themselves,   244-248. 

VIII.    Results  of  Indian  Missions 249 

I.  A  glance  at  statistics,  249-255.  II.  Extra-statistical 
results  of  Indian  missions,  256-265.  III.  Leavening  the 
Empire,   265-269. 

IX.    Recent    Movements    and    Pressing    Opportuni- 
ties  270 

Appendix  A 305 

Annotated  Bibliography. 

Appendix  B 316 

Comparative  Summary,    1 851-1900. 

Appendix  C 317 

PART_  I — Statistics  of  Protestant  Missions  in  India — 
Distribution. 

PART   II — Statistics    of    Protestant   Missions    in    India.    2,20 

Index 321 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Frontispiece 

cing  page     i 

'        I 

'       72 

'        72 

'      lOI 

'      lOI 

Waiting  to  See  the  Golden  God  at  Kumbhakonam — 

"  As  Sheep  not  Having  a  Shepherd  "  . 
Scenery  in  North  India — Naini  Tal  .  .  . 
Scene  in  South  India — Irrigating  Canal  .  . 
Mausoleum  of  Akbar  the  Great,  near  Agra 
Cawnpore  Memorial  Well — Sepoy  Mutiny  . 
Young  Brahman  and  His  Wife  .... 
Yogi,  with  Mark  of  His  God  on  His  Forehead 

Sketch  Map  of  India Between  pages  iio-iii 

Great  Mosque  at  Delhi Facing  page  131 

Tank  and  Temple  Architecture — South  India 
Central  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 

Building,  Madras 

Young     Women's      Christian      Association 

Building,  Bombay 

Itinerating  Tent  and  Outfit — Haidarabad 
Street  Preaching — Women's  Work    .     . 
Zenana  Workers — North   India     .     .     . 
Bible  Woman  and  Pupils — South  India 
The  Isabella  Thoburn  College,  Lucknow 
Forman  Christian  College,  Lahore     .     . 
Bareilly  Theological  Seminary — Class  of  1902 
Bishop  Thoburn  Baptizing  Converts 
Statistics  of  Protestant  Missions  in  India 


131 


177 


177 
184 
184 
193 
193 
201 
201 
225 
225 
298 


IX 


Scenery  in  North  India— Naini  Tal 


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Scene  in  South  India — Irrigating  Canal 


I 

THE  PHYSICAL  ENVIRONMENT 

I.    Names  and  Their  Significance 

I.  Names.  —  Our  word  India  has  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  many  transmitters.'  Starting  from  the  name  of  the 
river  which  so  impressed  the  early  immigrants  from  the 
Northwest  with  its  size  that  they  called  it  Sindhus,  from 
the  root  meaning  "  to  flow,"  the  name  given  the  ocean  — 
the  modern  Indus, —  the  initial  letter  became  later  an 
aspirate,  and  hence  in  Persian  it  was  written  Hendu.  The 
Greeks  dropped  both  sibilant  and  aspirate  and  called  the 
river,  'IvSo?,  the  land  along  its  banks  'IvSikiJ,  and  its 
people  TvSoi'.  The  Romans  knew  the  country  as  India. 
"  The  Persian  term  Hindustan,  that  is,  *  Land  of  the 
Hindus,'  is  merely  another  form  of  the  old  name  of  India. 
Others  have  identified  India  with  the  god  Indra, 
whose  arm  directs  the  course  of  the  moon  in  the  heavens, 
implying  that  Hindustan  is  pre-eminently  the  '  Sub-lunar 
World.'  It  also  bears  many  poetic  names,  such  as  Sudar- 
qana  or  *  Fair  to  look  upon ';  Bharata  varcha  [varsha],  or 
the  fertile  land ;'  The  Lotus  Flower' ;  Jambu  dvipa  [Jambu 
dwipa],  from  the  Eugenia  Jambolana,  a  beautiful  species 
of  myrtle,  one  of  which  plants  is  described  in  the  Maha- 
bharata  as  growing  on  a  mountain  of  the  Himalayas, '  holy, 

^  Yule  and  Burnell,  Hobson-Jobson,  pp.  339,  330;  Harper's  Diction- 
ary of  Classical  Literature  and  Antiquities,  p.  873. 

2  A  more  correct  account  of  this  name  is  that  given  by  Marshman 
in  the  first  volume  of  his  History  of  India,  who  says  that  it  is  derived 
from  King  Bharat,  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  renowned  of  its  rulers. 


2  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

everlasting,  heaven-kissing,  laden  with  fruits  which  fall 
crushing  to  the  earth  when  their  juice  falls  in  a  broad 
stream.'  The  expressions  Arya  varta,  Arya  bhumi,  Arya 
deqa,  that  is,  *  Land,  region,  or  domain  of  the  Aryas,*  given 
to  the  country  by  the  conquering  race  are  properly  appli- 
cable only  to  the  parts  occupied  by  the  Aryas."^ 

2.  Content  of  the  Term,  India.  —  From  the  Book  of 
Esther  and  Herodotus  down  through  the  Dark  Ages  — 
whose  scholars  divided  the  world  into  three  parts, 
"Europe,  Africa  and  India" — even  to  1492,  when  the  great 
Admiral  erroneously  supposed  the  aborigines  of  America 
to  be  the  natives  of  India,  there  was  great  uncertainty  as 
to  the  content  of  that  term.  The  Old  Testament  writers 
apparently  regarded  it  as  indicating  what  Herodotus  thus 
describes  :  "  Eastward  of  India  lies  a  tract  which  is  en- 
tirely sand.  Indeed  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  Asia  concern- 
ing whom  anything  is  known,  the  Indians  dwell  nearest 
to  the  east  and  the  rising  of  the  sun.'"  Ptolemy  divided 
the  country  into  two  parts,  India  within  the  Ganges  and 
India  beyond  the  Ganges.  Later  came  the  distinctions  of 
Greater  and  Lesser  India,  and  there  was  even  a  threefold 
division  which  gave  us  the  phrase,  "  the  Indies."  By  an 
extension  of  the  term''  it  later  included  Arabia  and  Ethio- 
pia, together  with  the  mediaeval  usage  already  noted.  In 
this  volume  the  word  indicates  Asia's  southern  central 
peninsula,  with  the  adjacent  country  of  Burma,  the  Anda- 
man and  Nicobar  Islands,  together  with  those  small  islets 
southwest  of  India,  and  the  more  or  less  independent  coun- 
tries of  Baluchistan,  part  of  Afghanistan,  and  those  north- 
'  ern  dependencies  lying  between  Tibet  and  India.  Little  will 
be  said,  however,  about  those  regions  lying  outside  India 
proper  and  Burma,  since  scarcely  any  missionary  work  is 
doing  in  those  sections. 

*  Reclus,  Asia,  vol.  iii.,  p.   14. 

'  Yule  and  Burnell,  Hobson-Jobson,  p.  331, 

•  Rcclus,    Asia,    vol.    iii.,    p.    i. 


THE  PHYSICAL  ENVIRONMENT 


II.   General  View 

I.  Place  Among  the  Nations.  —  Nearly  every  consid- 
eration likely  to  evoke  and  sustain  interest  is  found  in  this 
Empire.  To  the  man  desiring  to  see  the  extension  of 
commerce  and  the  material  development  of  races,  it  is 
quite  as  attractive  as  it  is  to  the  student  of  Christian 
civilization  and  missionary  effort. 

A  Wonderful  Antiquity.  —  Robed  in  the  shadowy  gar- 
ments of  an  age  antecedent  to  that  in  which  our  com- 
mon Aryan  family  emigrated  from  the  ancestral  home, 
this  great  land  stands  forth  in  the  earliest  historic  times 
an  Oriental  Minerva,  having  in  her  possession  the  rudi- 
ments of  art  and  science  and  the  cruder  gifts  of  war  and 
handicraft.  Not  only  does  ancient  India  exhibit  a  remark- 
able civilization,  but  that  remote  time  was  the  Golden  Age 
of  her  religious  life.  The  Himalayas,  whose  highest  peaks 
far  over-top  Pelion  and  Ossa,  piled  upon  Olympus  itself, 
are  alive  with  deities,  while  in  the  fertile  river  plains 
below  the  ministers  of  religion  give  utterance  to  those 
.Vedic  hymns  which  to-day  are  redolent  with  the  fragrance 
of  the  world's  morning. 

Later  Thought  and  Labor.  —  But  not  alone  does  primi- 
tive India  attract  the  men  of  our  day.  Through  the  cen- 
turies from  Solomon's  time  to  the  present  this  land  has 
ministered  to  the  world  through  the  products  of  its  brain 
and  its  brawn.  This  "  Desire  of  the  Nations "  has 
attracted  slowly-moving  caravans  and  tempest-tossed  ships 
from  the  West  by  its  far-famed  treasures.  Old  and  cul- 
tured China,  with  a  religion  that  was  mainly  ethical  and 
devoid  of  future  hope,  sent  imperial  embassies  and  pious 
pilgrims  across  mountain  and  sea  to  find  in  Gangetic 
plains  a  religion  pulsating  with  human  life  and  brother- 
hood, and  boasting  of  a  better  light  for  the  soul  that 
peers  anxiously  into  hepclcss  oons  of  the  future.     The 


4  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

Arab  of  the  Middle  Ages,  eager  for  new  knowledge,  slaked 
his  thirst  at  Indian  springs  and  carried  back  to  ignorant 
Europe  the  cup  of  Eastern  learning.  When  once  the  Cape 
was  rounded,  all  the  Western  nations  took  ship  for  India 
and  entered  upon  those  centuries  of  intrigue,  diplomatic 
struggles,  and  open  wars,  which  culminated  in  the  no  less 
strenuous  battles  of  a  benevolent  occupation  by  the 
w'orld's  most  wise  and  Christian  colonizing  power.  To- 
day Britain's  fairest  and  most  prized  possession  is  India, 
and  to  its  shores  the  fleets  of  every  nation  resort  for  pur- 
poses of  trade,  or  to  carry  thither  hosts  of  fascinated 
travelers. 

Center  of  Christian  Interest.  —  And  India  is  also  a  cen- 
ter toward  which  the  Christian  Church  looks  with  deepest 
interest.  Christians  of  every  name  turn  toward  this  Em- 
pire, —  containing  the  largest  number  of  missionaries  de- 
voted to  the  Christianization  of  any  mission  country, — 
with  earnest  longings  and  supplications,  and  send  thither 
the  no  less  necessary  gifts  of  treasure  and  consecrated 
young  life. 

2.  General  Features  —  Areas,  —  Were  one  in  mid-air 
to  look  down  upon  this  continental  mass  which  juts  south- 
ward into  the  Indian  Ocean,  buttressed  on  the  east  by  its 
Burman  extension  and  on  the  west  by  the  Afghan  and 
Baluchi  frontier,  his  eye  would  scan  a  territory  measuring 
some  2,000  miles  from  north  to  south  and  about  2,500 
miles  in  its  largest  dimension,  —  from  Ouetta  in  the  north- 
west to  the  southernmost  point  of  Burma.  This  area  of 
1.559,603  square  miles  equals  more  than  six-tenths  of  the 
United  States  minus  Alaska,  and  would  more  than  cover 
the  region  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  If  its  twenty- 
nine  degrees  of  latitude  and  thirty-four  degrees  of  longi- 
tude were  placed  on  corresponding  parallels  and  merid- 
ians in  America,  its  northern  point  would  lie  upon 
the  northernmost  border  of  Texas;  Quetta  in  Baluchistan 
would  nearly  coincide  with   the  northwestern  corner  of 


THE  PHYSICAL  ENVIRONMENT  5 

Mexico;  Burma's  easternmost  city  of  any  size,  Bhamo, 
would  lie  on  the  southern  point  of  Florida;  and  Comorin, 
India's  southernmost  cape,  would  be  in  the  Pacific,  2,000 
miles  west  of  Panama. 

Scenery.  —  This  extensive  country,  shaped  like  a  lion's 
head  and  neck  with  the  face  toward  the  West,  contains 
every  variety  of  scenery.  The  French  geographer,  £. 
Reclus,  thus  pictures  North  India  with  his  graphic  pen- 
cil :  "  In  East  India  the  physical  features  of  nature  are 
in  many  respects  presented  in  their  grandest  aspect.  The 
plains  watered  by  the  Indus  and  Ganges  are  encircled 
northwards  by  the  loftiest  mountains  on  the  globe,  nor  is 
the  contrast  between  their  glittering  snowy  peaks  and  the 
unbroken  sea  of  verdure  clothing  their  lower  slopes  else- 
where developed  on  such  a  vast  scale.  North  of  the  main 
range  the  Tibetan  plateaux  present  interminable  solitudes, 
destitute  of  water  and  vegetation  except  in  the  deeper 
depressions,  in  which  are  gathered  the  mountain  torrents, 
and  where  shelter  is  afforded  to  men  and  plants.  But 
towards  the  south  the  land  falls  in  successive  terraces 
down  to  rich  and  well-watered  plains  abounding  in  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  life.  Within  the  highlands  themselves 
extensive  valleys  are  developed,  like  that  of  Kashmir, 
which  in  the  popular  fancy  have  been  converted  into 
earthly  paradises  inhabited  by  mankind  during  the  Golden 
Age.  These  delightful  uplands  are  in  truth  almost  unri- 
valed for  their  healthy  chmate  and  fertile  soil,  their  lovely 
landscapes  reflected  in  limpid  lakes  and  running  waters, 
their  amphitheaters  of  snowy  ranges,  and  canopy  of  bright 
azure  skies."*  In  the  river  valleys  and  especially  in  the 
Deccan,  the  scenery  is  widely  different  from  that  above 
described.  Save  in  the  mountainous  sections,  one  may 
travel  for  hundreds  of  miles  over  regions  as  flat  as  a 
Western  prairie,  while  barrenness  and  death  are  the  domi- 
nant impressions  except  during  the  rains. 
*  ReeltJS,  Asia,  vol.  iii.,  p.  «. 


INDIA   AND  CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 


III.   India's  Four  Great  Regions 

1.  General  Characterisation.  —  The  late  Sir  William 
Hunter  thus  characterizes  the  first  three  of  these  regions : 
"The  first,  or  the  Himalayan,  lies  for  the  most  part  beyond 
the  British  frontier,  but  a  knowledge  of  it  supplies  the  key 
to  the  climatic  and  social  conditions  of  India.  The  sec- 
ond region,  or  the  river  plains  in  the  North,  formed  the 
theater  of  the  ancient  race  movements  which  shaped  the 
civilization  and  political  destinies  of  the  whole  Indian 
peninsula.  The  third  region,  or  the  triangular  table-land 
in  the  South,  has  a  character  quite  distinct  from  either  of 
the  other  two  divisions,  and  a  population  which  is  now 
working  out  a  separate  development  of  its  own.  Broadly 
speaking,  the  Himalayas  are  peopled  by  Turanian  tribes, 
although  to  a  large  extent  ruled  by  Aryan  immigrants. 
The  great  river  plains  of  Bengal  are  still  the  possession 
of  the  Indo-Aryan  race.  The  triangular  table-land  has 
formed  an  arena  for  a  long  struggle  between  the  Aryan 
civilization  from  the  North,  and  what  is  known  as  the 
Dravidian  stock  in  the  South."^ 

2.  The  Deccan  —  Boundaries.  —  The  Western  traveler 
on  approaching  India  usually  first  sees  the  triangular 
table-land  known  as  the  Deccan,  "  The  South,"  which  is 
the  home  of  about  two-fifths  of  India's  inhabitants.  It  is 
hemmed  in  on  every  side  by  mountains,  the  Vindhyas  on 
the  north  having  as  their  eastern  and  western  redoubts 
two  of  the  sacred  peaks  of  the  Jains,  the  western  one,  Mt. 
Abu,  rising  like  an  island  out  of  the  Rajputana  plain  and 
abounding  in  temples  of  exquisite  workmanship.  These 
vast  masses  of  forests,  ridges,  and  peaks  were  for  cen- 
turies a  formidable  barrier  between  dwellers  in  the  North 
and  South,  and  this  has  always  proved  a  main  difficulty  in 
welding  the  two  sections  into  a  single  whole.    The  East- 

*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  74. 


tHE   PHYSICAL  ENVIRONMENT  7 

crn  and  Western  Ghats  complete  the  triangle.  Those  fac- 
ing the  Bay  of  Bengal  average  only  about  half  the  height 
of  the  Western  Ghats,  and  in  many  places  they  recede  in 
detached  spurs  far  back  from  the  Indian  Ocean.  The 
Western  Ghats  on  the  contrary  are  true  to  their  name, 
—  "  landing  stairs,"  —  as  they  closely  skirt  the  coast  from 
which  they  rise  abruptly,  often  in  magnificent  precipices 
and  headlands.  **  The  physical  geography  and  the  politi- 
cal destiny  of  the  two  sides  of  the  Indian  peninsula  have 
been  determined  by  the  characteristics  of  the  mountain 
ranges  on  either  coast.  On  the  east,  the  Madras  country 
is  comparatively  open,  and  was  always  accessible  to  the 
spread  of  civilization.  On  the  east,  therefore,  the  ancient 
dynasties  of  Southern  India  fixed  their  capitals.  Along 
the  west,  only  a  narrow  strip  of  lowland  intervenes  be- 
tween the  barrier  range  and  the  Bombay  seaboard.  This 
western  tract  long  remained  apart  from  the  civilization  of 
the  eastern  coast.  To  our  own  day,  one  of  its  ruling  races, 
the  Nairs,  retains  land  tenures  and  social  customs,  such 
as  polyandry,  which  mark  a  much  ruder  stage  of  human 
advancement  than  Hinduism,  and  which  in  other  parts  of 
India  only  linger  among  isolated  hill  tribes.'" 

The  Deccan  Interior.  —  The  interior  of  the  Deccan 
plateau  is  checkered  with  mountains  and  hills.  Here  the 
rich  black  soil  has  in  many  sections  induced  inhabitants  to 
drive  back  the  jungle  into  the  hilly  recesses,  and  were  it 
not  for  the  liability  to  drought,  which  is  only  partially  pro- 
vided against  by  the  irrigation  system.  Southern  India 
would  be  far  more  densely  populated  than  it  now  is.  The 
wooded  stretches  lend  picturesqueness  to  the  better  watered 
portions  of  the  table-land,  as  witness  the  description  of  the 
Mysore  forest  quoted  by  Bishop  Hurst  :  "  Trees  of  the 
largest  size  stand  thickly  together  over  miles,  their  trunks 
entwined  with  creepers  of  huge  dimensions,  their  massive 
arms  decked  with  a  thousand  bright-blossoming  orchids. 
*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p,  70. 


8  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

Birds  of  rare  plumage  flit  from  bough  to  bough;  from  the 
thick  woods,  which  abruptly  terminate  on  verdant  swards, 
bison  issue  forth  in  the  early  morn  and  afternoon  to 
browse  on  the  rich  herbage,  while  large  herds  of  elk  pass 
rapidly  across  the  hill-sides;  packs  of  wild  dogs  cross  the 
path,  hunting  in  company,  and  the  tiger  is  not  far  off.  for 
the  warning  boom  of  the  great  langur  monkey  is  heard 
from  the  lofty  trees.  The  view  from  the  head  of  the 
descent  to  the  Falls  of  Gersoppa  is  one  of  the  finest  pieces 
of  scenery  in  the  world. "^ 

3.  River  Plains.  —  The  Indo-Gangetic  Plain,  some  1,500 
miles  in  length  from  east  to  west,  is  the  seat  of  India's 
densest  populations.  It  lies  north  of  the  Deccan,  between 
it  and  the  Himalayan  region.  Except  in  the  central-west- 
ern section  streams  are  as  characteristic  of  the  plain 
region  as  their  absence  is  of  the  most  of  the  Deccan.  The 
Indian  peasant  is  enamored  of  their  beneficent  presence 
and  exhibits  his  appreciation  by  such  names  as  "  Streak 
of  Gold,"  ''Glancing  Waters,"  "Sinless  One,"  "Forest 
Hope,"  and  "  Lord  of  Strength."  So  fertile  and  well- 
watered  are  the  plains  that  two  or  three  harvests  are 
gathered  each  year  in  the  more  favored  sections. 

Scenery.  —  The  scenery  in  the  Gangetic  region  of  India 
can  be  imagined  from  this  unduly  colored  quotation  : 
"  Along  the  upper  and  middle  courses  of  the  Bengal  rivers, 
the  country  rises  gently  from  their  banks  in  fertile  undu- 
lations, dotted  with  mud  villages  and  adorned  with  noble 
trees.  Mango  groves  scent  the  air  with  their  blossom  in 
spring,  and  yield  their  abundant  fruit  in  summer.  The 
spreading  banyan,  with  its  colonnades  of  hanging  roots* 
the  stately  pipal,  with  its  green  masses  of  foliage;  the 
wild  cotton  tree,  glowing  while  still  leafless  with  heavy 
crimson  flowers;  the  tall,  daintily-shaped,  feathery-leafed 
tamarind,  and  the  quick-growing  babul  rear  their  heads 
above  the  crop  fields.    As  the  rivers  approach  the  coast, 

^  Hurst,  Indika,  p.  303. 


THE   PHYSICAL   ENVIRONMENT  9 

the  palm  trees  take  possession  of  the  scene.  The  ordi- 
nary landscape  in  the  delta  is  a  flat  stretch  of  rice-fields, 
fringed  around  with  an  evergreen  border  of  bamboos, 
cocoanuts,  date  trees,  areca,  and  other  coronetted  palms. 
This  densely-peopled  tract  seems  at  first  sight  bare  of 
villages,  for  each  hamlet  is  hidden  away  amid  its  own 
grove  of  plantains  and  wealth-giving  trees."^  The  above 
description  is  antipodal,  of  course,  to  what  might  be  said 
of  the  arid  regions  of  the  West,  especially  the  Desert  of 
Thar  where,  however,  scarcely  any  missionary  work  is 
done. 

Resulting  Advantages.  —  The  result  of  such  a  physical 
endowment  upon  the  Indo-Gangetic  Plain  has  been  most 
striking.  "  The  northern  basin,  generally  level  and  fertil- 
ized by  numerous  navigable  waters,  naturally  became  the 
center  of  culture  for  all  the  surrounding  nations.  These 
productive  plains  were  soon  occupied  by  numerous  agricul- 
tural settlements;  here  were  founded  many  flourishing 
trade  marts;  here  the  industries  were  very  rapidly  de- 
veloped ;  here  civilization  achieved  some  of  its  greatest  tri- 
umphs. But  here  also  successive  invasions  led  to  the  most 
violent  conflicts,  and  brought  about  a  constant  interm.in- 
gling  of  races.  Forming  a  vast  basin,  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  more  elevated  lands,  the  Indo-Gangetic  plain,  like 
that  of  Northern  Italy,  was  necessarily  exposed  from  the 
first  to  the  inroads  of  all  the  neighboring  peoples.  On  the 
west  the  Afghans,  and  even  invaders  from  beyond  the  Hin- 
du Kush,  found  broad  openings  in  the  encircling  ranges 
leading  down  to  those  rich  plains  and  magnificent  cities, 
which  ever  over-flowed  with  treasures  during  each  short 
interval  of  peace.  On  the  north  the  warlike  highland 
populations  were  separated  only  by  a  narrow  marshy  zone 
from  the  cultivators  of  the  plains.  On  the  east,  also,  the 
wild  tribes  of  the  hills,  through  which  the  Brahmaputra 
escapes  seawards,  beheld  an  inviting  and  easily  accessible 

^  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  pp.  65,  66. 


10  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   0PPORTU^aTY• 

field  of  plunder  spread  out  before  them.  For  ages  the; 
inroads  were  incessantly  renewed,  now  from  one  point,' 
now  from  another,  while  these  hostile  incursions  at  times 
developed  into  vast  migrations  of  whole  races. 

Plain  vs.  Deccan  Population.  — "  Thus  it  was  that 
throughout  the  historic  period  the  populations  of  the  Indus 
and  Gangetic  plains  were,  till  recently,  subject  to  constant 
fluctuations.  Hence  the  primeval  races  and  languages  are 
now  no  longer  found  in  these  regions  that  have  been  so 
frequently  wasted  by  fire  and  sword ;  whereas  the  densely 
wooded  uplands  and  valleys  of  Southern  India  have  pre- 
served pure  from  foreign  contact  many  communities  which 
still  retain  the  same  physique,  speech,  and  habits  of  two 
thousand  or  three  thousand  years  ago.  But  as  the  hives 
became  too  crowded,  these  communities  necessarily 
swarmed  abroad,  and  their  migrations,  whether  warlike  or 
peaceful,  were  naturally  attracted  to  the  fair  cities  of  the 
plains,  whose  glittering  domes  were  visible."^ 

4.  Himalayan  Region.  —  The  region  lying  to  the  north 
of  the  Indo-Gangetic  Plain  is  mountainous.  Like  a  vast 
scimitar  with  its  cutting  edge  turned  southward,  the 
Himalayas,  the  loftiest  chain  in  the  world,  impend  over 
India.  It  is  really  a  double  range,  the  southern  chain  ris- 
ing rapidly  to  a  height  of  nearly  six  miles  above  the  sea 
and  culminating  in  Mt.  Everest,  the  highest  peak  yet  meas- 
ured. Its  northern  slope  descends  to  an  elevation  of  some 
13,000  feet  and  then  rises  again  in  a  second  line  of  peaks. 
These  mountain  masses  present  one  of  the  most  sublime 
panoramas  in  the  world.  "  Above  the  enormous  base  of 
the  green  or  rocky  Alps  rise  other  heights,  which  are 
always  white,  except  when  gilded  by  the  sun  or  darkened 
by  the  falling  shadows,  and  towering  above  these  masses 
of  snow-clad  pyramids  appear  the  inaccessible  topmost 
summits,  whence,  should  they  ever  be  ascended,  a  pros- 
pect will  be  commanded  of  the  Tibetan  plateaux,  of  the 
.^Reclus,  Asia,  vol.  iii.,  p.   24. 


THE  PHYSICAL   ENVIRONMENT  1 1 

plains  of  India;  of  the  valleys  watered  by  the  Tsunbo 
[Tsan-pu],  Ganges  and  Jamna  [Jumna].'" 

Value  to  India.  —  The  part  which  this  region  has  played 
in  India's  history  is  two-fold.  For  ages  the  Himalayas 
have  proven  an  insurmountable  wall  of  defence  from 
northern  enemies.  They  have  also  acted  as  a  colossal 
condenser  to  turn  back  to  the  plains  the  fertilizing  mois- 
ture hurled  against  their  rugged  sides  by  moisture-bear- 
ing monsoons.  The  southern  slopes  of  the  Himalayas  re- 
ceive the  highest  measured  rainfalls  in  the  world,  while 
the  inner  ranges  on  the  north  store  up  snow,  thus  provid- 
ing a  water  supply  for  the  rainless  season. 

5.  Biu'uia  —  Lower.  —  Burma  constitutes  the  eastern- 
most and  largest  province  of  the  Indian  Empire.  Its 
southern  section  is  the  most  populous.  In  Arakan  the 
mountains,  "  clothed  to  their  summits  with  the  rich  forest 
vegetation,  rise  in  a  succession  of  parallel  ridges  from  the 
plains  to  a  height  of  from  5,000  to  6,000  feet.  The  plains 
themselves  are  of  small  extent,  being  mostly  either  lim- 
ited by  the  offshoots  of  the  lower  coast  ranges,  or  else 
hemmed  in  by  wooded  tracts,  which  on  the  coast  consist 
exclusively  of  mango  trees.  The  lovvdands  are  indented  by 
countless  streams  from  the  hills,  while  the  spring-tides 
flood  extensive  low-lying  districts,  forming  a  labyrinth  of 
channels  and  back  waters.  These  water  courses  take  the 
place  of  highways,  serving  as  a  means  of  rapid  intercourse 
betv/een  the  towns  and  villages.''^  In  Pegu  further  south, 
the  land  is  low,  sandy  or  muddy,  and  during  the  rainy  sea- 
son is  exposed  to  destructive  floods.  It  is,  however,  well 
adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  rice,  which  is  here  produced 
in  great  abundance.  Tenasserim,  Burma's  southermost 
tongue  of  land,  is  fringed  along  its  entire  length  by  a  vast 
number  of  islands,  which  are  hilly  and  often  densely 
wooded  with  valuable  trees. 

*  Reclus,  Asia,  vol.  iii.,  p,  28. 

*  Stanford's  Compendium  of  Geography,  Asia,  vol,  ii.,  pp.  232,  222' 


12  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

Upper  Burma.  —  This  was  annexed  to  the  Indian  Em- 
pire as  recently  as  1886.  It  is  in  the  main  an  upland  ter- 
ritory covered  for  the  most  part  with  forests  of  useful  and 
ornamental  trees,  the  best  of  which  is  the  teak.  Some  of 
these  have  a  girth  of  twenty-five  feet  and  rise  120  feet. 
"  Orchids,  ferns,  and  mosses  of  great  beauty  are  found  in 
abundance.  Ground  flowers  are  comparatively  few;  but 
a  Burma  forest,  and  particularly  in  the  month  of  March, 
is  quite  bright  with  the  many  colors  and  sweet  with  the 
varying  scents  of  thousands  of  flowering  trees,  flowering 
creepers,  flowering  shrubs  and  orchids."  Cleared  portions 
of  the  upland  and  hill  regions  are  connected  by  tracks 
where  the  jungle  has  been  cut  away.  These  so-called 
roads  are  pulverized  into  dust  by  the  slab  wheels  of  bul- 
lock carts  in  the  dry  season,  or  are  churned  into  a  quag- 
mire by  animals  after  the  rain  has  come.  The  tea  plant, 
wheat,  maize,  and  cotton  thrive  here  as  rice  does  on  the 
plains. 

IV.    India's  Natural  Resources 

I.  'Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Wealth.  —  The  agri- 
cultural resources  of  the  Empire  are  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant source  of  wealth.  Those  crops  which  in  1899-1900 
—  a  year  of  famine,  it  should  be  remembered  —  occu- 
pied the  largest  acreage  were  as  follows,  expressed  in  the 
nearest  million  of  acres  planted:  Rice,  seventy-three; 
wheat,  sixteen;  other  food  grains,  seventy-six;  oil  seeds, 
ten ;  cotton,  eight ;  sugar  cane,  three  ;  indigo,  one.  Tea  cul- 
ture is  a  comparatively  new  occupation;  but,  like  tobacco, 
it  proves  very  profitable  to  those  capitalists  engaged  in  it. 
Though  the  introduction  from  Peru  of  the  quinine-yield- 
ing cinchona  as  yet  renders  small  financial  returns,  it  is  a 
boon  to  myriads  of  fever-smitten  natives.  Ordinary 
Occidental  vegetables  are  widely  grown,  and  many  tropical 
fruits  add  to  the  delights  of  the  foreigner's  table. 


THE   PHYSICAL  ENVIRONMENT  I3 

2.  Forests.  —  The  forests  of  India  are  under  the  care 
of  the  Government  and  are  being  conserved  and  extended. 
The  aristocracy  of  the  Indian  forests,  with  the  teak  as 
king,  includes  the  sal,  the  deodar,  and  the  oak  and  chestnut 
of  temperate  climes.  The  more  precious  sandalwood  is 
limited  to  portions  of  the  Deccan.  The  great  enemy  of 
timber  is  nomadic  cultivation.  A  tribe  burns  down  a  patch 
of  forest,  and  with  little  or  no  culture  the  soil  is  planted 
with  the  seeds.  Heat  and  rains  and  a  thick  bed  of  ashes 
cause  it  to  yield  large  crops  with  the  minimum  of  labor. 
In  two  or  three  years  the  people  move  on  to  a  new  spot, 
leaving  the  denuded  forests  to  quick  jungle  growths. 
Where  the  mountain  slopes  are  thus  cleared  the  rains 
sweep  away  the  soil,  leaving  the  mountain  side  nearly 
barren. 

3.  Minerals,  Metals,  Gems.  —  The  mineral  resources  of 
India  are  far  less  valuable  than  its  agricultural  wealth. 
Though  the  Malabar  Coast  is  by  many  identified  with 
King  Solomon's  Ophir,  the  precious  metals  are  present  in 
very  limited  quantities.  Iron  and  copper  are  fairly 
abundant  and  a  very  ashy  coal  is  mined  in  sufficient  quan- 
tities to  supply  the  railways.  Despite  Golconda's  fame 
in  literature,  diamonds  are  found  in  the  central  regions  in 
very  small  quantities,  though  in  the  sixteenth  century  Gol- 
condan  lapidaries  were  famed  because  of  their  skill  in 
cutting  and  polishing  diamonds.  The  jade  and  ruby  mines 
of  Burma  are  a  more  considerable  source  of  wealth.  On 
the  Madura  Coast,  and  in  the  Gulf  of  Cambay,  there  are 
pearl  fisheries  of  inferior  importance. 

4.  Fauna.  —  The  fauna  of  India  is  an  asset  of  mingled 
value  and  loss.  The  domestic  animals  of  the  Occident  are 
all  here,  though  sometimes  in  different  varieties.  Oxen 
and  buffaloes  do  most  of  the  heavy  work  of  agriculture. 
Milk  and  butter  are  largely  used.  Elephants,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  those  in  Burma,  are  rarely  employed,  save  for 
military  and  hunting  purposes,    ^^'herc  fish  are  abundant. 


14  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

they  constitute  a  large  part  of  the  dietary  of  tht*  poorer 
classes. 

Animal  Pests.  —  Lions,  tigers, —  including  the  dreaded 
man-eaters,  specimens  of  which  have  been  known  to  de- 
vour eighty  persons  annually, —  leopards,  wolves,  bears, 
the  rhinoceros,  and  bison,  and  venomous  snakes,  are  the 
delight  of  the  hunter,  or  the  bane  of  the  multitude.  India 
is  a  paradise  of  insects,  which  are  omnipresent  and  ex- 
tremely active,  owing  to  the  tropical  heat  and  abundant 
rains  in  certain  sections.  Some  of  them  are  great  pests, 
especially  the  innumerable  mosquitoes  and  ants  of  most 
destructive  habits,  while  others  are  very  showy,  having 
large  wings  of  surpassing  brilliancy. 

5.  Rivers  a  Resource.  —  The  Indus  and  its  feeder,  the 
Sutlej,  the  Ganges,  the  Brahmaputra,  and  the  Irawadi  are 
a  natural  resource  of  another  sort.  Flowing  from  peren- 
nial springs  through  broad  valleys,  they  have  for  ages 
been  the  great  carriers  and  travel  routes  of  the  North.  To- 
day railways  have  taken  away  most  of  the  passenger  traf- 
fic, but,  except  on  the  Irawadi,  they  are  still  important 
agents  in  transportation.  Another  invaluable  function 
which  they  will  always  perform  is  that  of  furnishing  the 
water  for  ever  extending  irrigation  schemes.  In  the  case 
of  one  of  them,  the  holy  "  Mother  Ganga,"  a  resource  far 
more  valuable  than  guano  beds  is  found  in  the  vast  amount 
of  fertilizing  mud  which  by  its  overflows  is  carried  far  and 
wide  over  large  sections  of  Bengal.  Some  355,000,000  tons 
of  silt  are  thus  brought  down  annually, —  an  amount  five 
times  as  large  as  that  deposited  by  the  Mississippi, —  and 
thus  each  year  its  delta  is  being  extended  southward,  as 
well  as  increased  in  elevation  above  the  sea.  The  work 
thus  done  during  the  rainy  season  by  the  Ganges  "  may  be 
realized  if  we  suppose  that  a  daily  succession  of  fleets, 
each  of  2.000  great  ships,  sailed  down  the  river  during  the 
four  months,  and  that  each  ship  of  the  daily  2,000  vessels 
deposited  a  freight  of  1,400  tons  of  mud  every  morning 


THE   PHYSICAL   ENVIRONMENT  1 5 

into  the  estuary."^  Deccan  rivers  are  of  little  importance 
for  transportation  and  fertilizing  purposes.  Even  the 
Narbada  and  Godavari  are  not  extensively  navigable, 
owing  to  their  obstruction  by  rapids. 

V.   Climatic  Features 

1.  Temperature.  —  The  temperature  of  India  varies 
greatly,  mainly  because  of  the  wide  diversity  in  altitude, 
and  in  distance  from  the  sea.  "  Along  the  coasts  it  is  high 
but  equable  throughout  the  year,  and  the  air  is  charged  with 
moisture.  Inland,  the  plateaux  show  a  wider  annual  range, 
and  are  dry  and  hot  during  one  part  of  the  year,  dry  and 
cold  during  another,  with  a  comparatively  short  interval  of 
warm  wet  weather.  Except  along  the  coasts,  therefore, 
the  mean  annual  temperature  is  a  meteorological  figure  of 
little  significance  in  the  life  of  the  people,  and  the  ex- 
treme range  between  the  mean  of  the  warmest  and  of  the 
coldest  month  is  a  factor  of  importance.  This  range,  in 
upper  Sindh  is  as  great  as  30°  F.  in  the  year;  in  the 
Panjab,  27°,  and  in  the  Dekkan,  25° ;  whilst  in  Calcutta  it 
is  but  16°,  falling  along  the  west  coast  to  12°.'" 

2.  Rail! fall,  —  In  most  of  India  rain  depends  upon  the 
monsoons,  especially  that  of  the  summer  blowing  from  the 
southwest.  The  annual  precipitation  varies  between  the 
two  extremes  of  a  "  record  "  fall  of  1861  in  Assam  amount- 
ing to  sixty-seven  feet,  one  inch,  and  four  and  one-third 
inches  at  one  of  the  Sind  stations.  In  general  rain  is  most 
abundant  on  the  seaward  slopes  of  the  Western  Ghats  and 
in  Burma  and  in  Assam.  Northwestern  India  is  the  dry- 
est  portion,  and  one-third  of  the  Deccan  is  also  very  inad- 
equately supplied  with  moisture. 

Bursting  of  the  Monsoon.  —  So  important  are  these 
winds  to  the  life  of  the  people  that  the  bursting  of  the 

*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  60. 

*  Mill,  International  Geography,  p.  474. 


l6  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

monsoon  has  been  the  theme  of  a  multitude  of  native  poets 
from  the  Vedic  Rishis  to  modern  poetasters.  A  European 
savant's  account  of  the  coming  of  the  rains  is  not  less 
poetical  than  it  is  accurate.  "  The  spectacle  presented  at 
its  first  approach  may  be  easily  contemplated  from  Math- 
eran,  near  Bombay,  from  Mahabaleshwar,  or  any  of  the 
other  headlands  of  the  Western  Ghats,  which  command  at 
once  a  view  of  the  sea,  the  coast,  and  the  mountain  gorges. 
The  first  storm-clouds,  forerunners  of  the  tempest,  usually 
gather  between  the  sixth  and  eighteenth  of  June,  accord- 
ing to  the  year.  On  one  side  of  the  horizon  the  coppery 
vapors  are  piled  up  like  towers,  or,  according  to  the  local 
expression,  are  massed  together  '  like  elephants  in  battle  '  ; 
and  as  they  move  slowly  towards  the  land,  one-half  of  the 
firmament  becomes  densely  overcast,  while  not  a  speck 
sullies  the  deep  azure  in  the  opposite  direction.  On  the 
one  hand,  mountains  and  valleys  are  wrapped  in  darkness; 
on  the  other,  the  outline  of  the  seaboard  stands  out  with 
intense  sharpness,  the  surface  of  sea  and  rivers  assumes 
the  metallic  hue  of  steel,  the  whole  land,  with  its  scattered 
towns,  glitters  with  a  weird  glare.  As  the  clouds  strike 
the  crags  of  the  Western  Ghats,  the  thunder  begins  to 
rumble,  the  whirlwind  bursts  over  the  land,  the  lightnings 
flash  incessantly,  the  peals  grow  more  frequent  and  pro- 
longed, the  rain  is  discharged  in  tremendous  downpours. 
Then  the  black  clouds  are  suddenly  rent  asunder,  the  light 
of  day  gradually  returns,  all  nature  is  again  bathed  in  the 
rays  of  the  setting  sun,  and  of  all  the  banked  up  masses 
nothing  remains  except  some  fleecy  vapor  ascending  the 
valleys  or  drifting  over  the  tree-tops.  Such  is  usually  the 
first  outburst  of  the  monsoon,  after  which  follow  the  reg- 
ular rains.  But  the  watery  mists  will  at  times  present 
themselves  unescorted  by  the  majesty  of  thunder  and  light- 
ning, and  then  a  midnight  darkness  unexpectedly  over- 
spreads the  horizon,  and  the  whole  land  is  deluged  by  tor- 
rential rains.    At  times  also  the  dense  masses  drift  slowly 


THE   PHYSICAL  ENVIRONMENT  \*J 

along  the  mantling  headlands  for  hours  together,  like  fleets 
of  war-ships  sailing  by  a  line  of  strongholds,  each  cloud  in 
its  turn  discharging  its  electric  shocks  as  it  doubles  the 
capes.  The  heavens  seem  then  to  be  at  war  with  the 
frowning  cliffs  of  the  seaboard."^ 

3.  Seasons.  —  The  distinctions  between  the  cool,  hot, 
and  rainy  seasons  are  well  marked  and  are  practically  om- 
nipresent. The  cool  months  extend  from  November  to 
the  middle  of  February.  The  rainy  season  falls  in  mid- 
summer, ending  ordinarily  in  September.  These  rains  are 
preceded  by  dry,  hot  weather  and  are  accompanied  and  fol- 
lowed by  a  trying,  moist  heat.  Winter  is  the  pleasantest 
portion  of  the  year;  spring  includes  the  hot  and  healthy 
months;  summer  weather  depends  on  the  duration  of  the 
rains;  and  the  fall  is  close  and  unhealthy,  usually  because 
of  malaria. 

The  Six  Seasons.  —  The  six  seasons  or  "  youths  "  of  the 
old  Aryan  myths  are  still  popularly  spoken  of  in  the  river 
plains.  According  to  these  myths,  "  the  vasanta,  or  spring, 
is  the  season  of  love  and  pleasure,  as  sung  by  the  poets. 
The  air  is  now  serene,  the  sky  limpid,  while  the  southern 
zephyr  murmurs  softly  in  the  foliage,  wafting  to  the  rural 
hamlet  the  intoxicating  fragrance  of  the  mango  blossom. 
Field  operations  are  now  over,  and  the  time  has  come  for 
marriage  and  feasts  in  honor  of  the  gods.  But  this  is  pres- 
ently followed  by  the  grishma,  or  *  season  of  sweats,'  with 
its  dust-clouds  rising  above  the  roads  and  fields,  its  fre- 
quent fires  amidst  the  dense  jungle  and  crackHng  bamboos. 
These  are  the  burning  months  of  May  and  June,  when  the 
air  is  ominously  still.  But  the  fierce  tornado  is  already 
preparing,  the  clouds  are  banking  up,  the  thunderstorm 
bursts  forth,  heralding  the  monsoon,  which  begins  with 
the  varsha,  or  *  rainy  season.'  Now  the  fields  are  watered 
by  swollen  streams,  nature  is  renewed,  the  seed  sprouts  in 
the  tilled  land.    These  two  months  of  July  and  August  are 

^  Reclus,   Asia,   vol.   iii.,   pp.   50-52. 


l8  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

followed  by  the  sharad,  or  autumn  season  of  September 
and  October,  which  ripens  the  fruits  with  its  heats,  still 
humid  from  the  recent  rains.  Then  comes  the  himanta,  or 
winter,  answering  to  the  two  last  months  of  the  European 
year,  when  the  mornings  and  evenings  are  chill,  but  the 
days  bright,  allowing  the  husbandman  to  reap  and  harvest 
his  crops.  Lastly,  the  sasi,  or  sisira,  —  that  is  the  period  of 
fogs  and  night  dews  —  ends  with  the  month  of  February, 
after  which  the  cycle  of  the  seasons  begins  again."* 

4.  Climatic  Scourges  —  Cyclones.  —  Climatic  aberra- 
tions grievously  affect  the  Indian  Empire  as  witness  the 
awful  ravages  due  to  natural  causes  which  often  decimate 
exposed  sections.  Cyclones  of  a  severity  scarcely  equaled 
in  the  West  Indies  or  Mascarene  Islands  occur  somewhat 
frequently.  Their  coming  is  unexpected,  and  in  a  few 
hours  appalling  ruin  marks  the  place  where  prosperity 
reigned.  The  most  destructive  cyclones  are  experienced 
around  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  The  worst  of  these 
terrific  visitations  in  history  was  the  Baker-ganj  cyclone 
of  1876,  which  drove  huge  waves  over  large  islands  and 
in  a  few  hours  engulfed  150,000  acres  of  land,  sweeping 
into  eternity  more  than  2,000,000  souls.  Cholera  followed 
in  its  wake  caused  by  the  putrefaction  of  unburied  corpses, 
thus  still  further  decimating  the  district. 

Drought.  —  Even  more  destructive  to  human  life  are  the 
droughts  which  occasionally  visit  the  dryer  parts  of  India, 
especially  in  Sind,  the  Punjab  portions  of  the  Gangetic 
Plain,  and  large  sections  of  the  Deccan,  and  other  parts  of 
the  Empire  where  the  mean  annual  rainfall  is  from  forty 
to  sixty  inches.  This  lack  of  rain  is  increasingly  provided 
against  by  the  extension  of  the  government  system  of 
rivers  and  irrigating  canals.  The  extent  of  this  system 
may  be  judged  from  a  single  example,  that  of  the  Sirhind 
Canal  in  the  Punjab,  the  main  arteries  of  which  are  542 
miles  in  length,  the  tributaries  aggregating  4,462  miles. 

1  Rcclus,  .-Isia,  vol.   iii.,  pp.   49,  50. 


THE  PHYSICAL   ENVIRONMENT  U) 

Famines.  —  As  a  natural  concomitant  of  extreme 
drought,  though  the  product  of  other  factors  as  well, 
deadly  famines  occur  at  intervals  of  a  few  years.  That  of 
1878,  which  lasted  twelve  months  in  the  Northwestern 
Provinces  and  twenty-two  months  in  Madras,  directly  af- 
fected a  population  of  more  than  58,000,000,  with  a  conse- 
quent reduction  through  deaths  and  a  diminished  birth 
rate  of  about  7,000,000.  The  awful  famine  of  1900,  so 
fresh  in  our  memories,  severely  affected  52,000,000  people 
and  resulted  directly  and  indirectly  in  the  death  of  toward 
a  million  persons,  a  large  majority  of  whom  were  children. 

Famine  Accompaniments.  —  Cholera  is  often  an  accom- 
paniment of  famines,  as  are  fevers  of  various  sorts,  so 
that  the  by-products  are  calamities  of  considerable  mo- 
ment. The  bubonic  plague  which,  during  the  years  1896 
to  1900,  caused  the  death  of  nearly  360,000  persons  in  In- 
dia is  produced,  according  to  the  Bombay  Plague  Research 
Committee,  by  causes  leading  to  a  lower  state  of  vitality,  of 
which  insufficient  food  is  probably  the  most  important. 
One  can  readily  understand,  therefore,  how  anxious  tlie 
people  are  about  the  coming  of  abundant  rains. 


II 

SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS 

Character  of  Indian  History.  —  History  cannot  be  pred- 
icated of  ancient  India  in  the  same  sense  that  it  is  of  those 
contemporary  river-valley  nations  of  the  Nile,  the 
Euphrates,  and  the  Huang  Ho ;  yet  the  early  civilization  of 
the  Indus  and  its  tributaries  is  no  less  certain  a  fact,  and 
it  is  even  more  interesting,  especially  to  the  student  of  re- 
ligion. Professor  Cowell  thus  characterizes  India's  his- 
tory :  "  The  very  word  history  has  no  corresponding  In- 
dian expression.  In  the  vernaculars  derived  from  the 
Sanskrit  we  use  the  term  itihas.  But  how  immeasurably 
different  the  Sanskrit  itihasa,  and  the  Greek  la-ropla  !  The 
one  implies  personal  research  and  inquiry  —  its  best  com- 
ment indeed  is  Herodotus'  own  life  of  travel  from  land  to 
land;  the  other  is  a  curious  compound  of  three  words,  iti, 
ha,  asa,  which  almost  correspond  in  meaning  to  our  old  nur- 
sery phrase,  *  There  was  once  upon  a  time.'  .  .  .  The  idlest 
legend  has  passed  current  as  readily  as  the  most  authentic 
fact,  —  nay,  more  readily,  because  it  is  more  likely  to 
charm  the  imagination ;  and,  in  this  phase  of  mind,  imagi- 
nation and  feeling  supply  the  only  proof  which  is  needed 
to  win  the  belief  of  the  audience.  Hence  the  whole  his- 
tory of  ancient  India  is  a  blank.  We  know  nothing  of  the 
actual  events  which  transpired  —  the  revolutions  which 
changed  the  aspect  of  society,  such  as  the  growth  of  the 
caste  system,  the  rise  of  Buddhism,  the  first  great  protest 
against  caste,  its  temporary  triumph,  or  its  final  over- 
throw—  unless  it  be  in  a   few  fragments  and  allusions 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  21 

which  dropped  unconsciously  from  the  Brahmanical 
writers,  and  which  modern  scholarship  has  toilsomely 
pieced  together,  like  broken  sentences  in  a  palimpsest.  In 
the  same  way  India  has  properly  no  literary  history;  her 
greatest  authors  are  only  names."^  Notwithstanding  the 
uncertainty  thus  clearly  stated,  there  is  pretty  general 
agreement  as  to  the  order  of  certain  outstanding  events, 
though  the  dates  in  the  present  chapter  are  only  given  as 
approximate  and  in  order  to  indicate  prevalent  opinion. 
In  this  respect  Indian  history  is  like  geological  strata,  the 
order  of  which  is  pretty  evident,  though  the  chronology  is 
not  determinable. 

I.   The  Aboriginal  Background 

1.  Earliest  Inhabitants.  —  In  the  dimmest  dawn  of  In- 
dian history,  no  one  knows  how  long  ago,  though  Max- 
Miiller  suggests  4,000  years  or  more,  we  find  existing  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  peninsula  a  primitive  race. 
*•  Who  the  first  inhabitants  of  India  were  we  know  not. 
In  primeval  days,  w^ild,  savage  people  inhabited  the  land, 
wandering  to  and  fro  along  the  riversides  in  search  of 
food.  The  only  records  they  have  left  of  their  existence 
are  the  chipped  flint  or  quartzite  arrow-heads,  scrapers, 
and  axes,  dug  up  to-day  in  the  alluvial  deposits  of  the  great 
river  valleys.  By  degrees  these  aboriginal  inhabitants  be- 
came more  civilized.  They  learned  to  smooth  and  polish 
their  rude  stone  implements,  perforating  them  with  holes 
so  as  to  attach  them  to  handles.  As  time  went  on  they 
made  gold  and  silver  ornaments  and  manufactured  earthen 
pots,  which  are  still  discovered  in  the  strange  tombs,  con- 
structed of  upright  stone  slabs,  wherein  they  buried  their 
dead. 

2.  Their  Modern  Representatives.  — "  From  their 
homes  in  the  river  valleys,  lowlands,  and  open  country, 

*  Cowell,  Inaugural  Lecture,  pp.  lo,  ii. 


22  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITV 

these  primeval  people  of  India  were  gradually  driven  by 
other  invading  races  to  the  lofty  mountain  ranges,  where, 
amid  the  dense  forests,  their  descendants  still  live  undis- 
turbed, retaining  all  their  primitive  simplicity,  supersti- 
tions, beliefs,  and  habits.  During  the  taking  of  the  Census 
of  1872  it  was  ascertained  that  one-twelfth  of  the  popula- 
tion of  India,  nearly  twenty  millions  of  human  beings,  con- 
sisted of  these  living  fossils  of  primeval  times.  [Later 
censuses  do  not  clearly  distinguish  aboriginal  elements.] 
There  they  remain,  a  strange  study  to  the  historian  and 
anthropologist;  worshipers  of  spirits,  ghosts  and  demons; 
worshipers  of  snakes,  trees,  mountains,  streams,  and 
aught  that  inspires  wonder,  fear,  or  terror;  but  little  af- 
fected by  the  efforts  of  their  British  rulers  to  inculcate  the 
most  primary  elements  of  civilization,  except  in  so  far  as 
their  grosser  habits  of  human  sacrifice,  infanticide,  and  in- 
tertribal war  and  bloodshed  have  been  sternly  suppressed.'" 
3.  Conjectural  Origin.  —  Conjecture  has  busied  itself 
with  these  extremely  interesting  people.  They,  or  at  least 
the  Dravidians,  are  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  surviving 
remnant  of  a  great  race  originally  inhabiting  a  wide  con- 
tinent, now  submerged,  which  stretched  from  Africa  and 
Madagascar  to  Melanesia  in  the  South  Pacific.  Indeed, 
"  Bishop  Caldwell  points  out  that  aboriginal  tribes  in 
Southern  and  Western  Australia  use  almost  the  same 
words  for  I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  etc.,  as  the  Dravidian  fisher- 
men on  the  Madras  coast,  and  resemble  in  other  ways  the 
Madras  hill  tribes,  as  in  the  use  of  their  national  weapon, 
the  boomerang.""  Others  regard  the  Dravidians  as  having 
come  from  beyond  the  Himalayas.  Dim  memories  of  the 
lofty  mountain  home  prevail  among  other  tribes,  like  those 
expressed  in  the  name  of  the  Santal  race-god,  "  the  Great 
Mountain,"  and  in  the  Gond  traditions  which  assert  that 
they  were  created  at  the  foot  of  a  Himalayan  peak.     A 

*  Frazer,  British  India,  pp.  49,  50. 
"Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  105. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  2^ 

touching  illustration  of  the  strength  of  this  tradition  sur- 
vived until  recently  in  their  custom  of  burying  the  dead 
with  the  feet  turned  Himalaya-ward,  so  as  to  be  ready  to 
return  at  last  to  their  lofty  mountain  home. 

The  languages  suggest  foreign  origins  of  the  non-Aryan 
races.  These  enduring  witnesses  of  antiquity  would  seem 
to  indicate  three  great  sources  of  emigration.  Thus  the 
Tibeto-Burman  races,  which  now  cling  closely  to  the  Him- 
alayas, especially  their  northeastern  offshoots,  may  have 
entered  India  from  their  early  Mongolian  home  by  way  of 
the  northeastern  passes.  The  Kolarian  stock,  now  chiefly 
dwelling  in  the  North  and  along  the  northeastern  edge  of 
the  Deccan  table-land,  probably  entered  India  by  the  same 
gateway  as  opened  to  the  Tibeto-Burmans.  The  third  and 
predominant  stock,  the  Dravidians,  who  now  occupy  the 
southern  part  of  the  Deccan,  probably  entered  India  by  the 
northwestern  passes,  if  affinities  with  Finnish,  Baluchi, 
and  Ugrian  languages  are  not  misleading. 

4.  Aboriginal  Religion. —  Though  the  early  Aryan  tra- 
ditions and  literature  speak  contemptuously  of  the  aborig- 
ines and  regard  them  as  abject  heathen,  using  the  epithets, 
"  lawless,"  "  disturbers  of  sacrifice,"  "  without  gods  and 
without  rights,"  they  were  nevertheless  possessed  of 
some  religious  instincts.  "  The  Kols  worshipped  the  local 
spirits  that  dwelt  in  the  trees  of  the  forest,  and  ghosts. 
The  Dravidians  worshipped  the  productive  earth  herself, 
under  the  symbol  of  the  snake,  and  the  linga,  or  rude  stone 
emblem  of  male  reproduction.  They  did  not,  however,  en- 
tirely neglect  the  local  spirits  of  the  forest  whom  the  Kols 
revered.  The  tree,  with  the  deity  who  dwelt  in  it,  was 
united  with  their  adoration  of  the  snake.  The  Dravidians 
were  the  famous  tree  and  serpent  worshipers  of  Ancient 
India."^  These  lower  forms  of  worship,  persisting  from 
antiquity  to  the  present  among  the  non-Aryans,  have 
doubtless  had  much  to  do  with  the  degradation  of  the 

^Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  pp.  107,  108. 


J4  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

early  and  purer  forms  of  Vedic  religion.  They  certainly 
constitute  a  considerable  portion  of  the  popular  Hinduism 
of  to-day. 

II.   The  Vedic  Age,  2000-1400  b.  c. 

1.  The  Date  of  First  Invasion.  —  At  the  dawn  of  more 
authentic  Indian  history,  only  a  few  years  before  the  ac- 
cepted date  of  the  crossing  of  the  Euphrates  by  Abram, 
the  "  immigrant,"  we  see  a  host  of  Aryan  nomads  descend- 
ing by  the  northwestern  passes  of  India  and  crossing  the 
sea-like  river  Indus,  whence  they  were  destined  to  spread 
over  the  fertile  northern  plains  and  become  par  excellence, 
the  Hindus,  India's  predominating  race. 

2.  Original  Aryan  Home.  —  Whence  they  came  cannot 
be  definitely  stated,  Max-Miiller  would  have  us  believe 
that  the  Aryan  hearthstone  was  somewhere  in  Asia;  Dr. 
Schrader  strongly  argues  for  European  Russia,  and  so 
does  Huxley  in  a  modified  form;  while  Herr  Penka  be- 
lieves that  it  was  somewhere  in  Scandinavia.  Be  the  exact 
locality  of  the  ancestral  home  where  it  may,  it  is  interest- 
ing to  know  that  this  same  momentous  migration  carried 
our  remote  ancestors  ultimately  into  Germany  and  Britain ; 
while  their  brethren,  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  sought  in 
Southern  Europe  the  seat  of  future  empires,  and  their 
no  less  Aryan  —  "  noble  "  —  brothers  journeyed  to  the 
land  of  endless  summer,  lying  south  of  the  Himalayas. 

Family  Heirlooms. —  Reminiscences  of  the  common 
Aryan  family  life  survive  in  our  every-day  words  father, 
mother,  brother,  sister;  while  daughter  reminds  the  scat- 
tered branches  of  the  great  family  of  the  time  when  she 
was  the  "  milkmaid  "  of  the  Aryan  household.  Names  of 
domestic  animals,  the  terminology  of  animal  life  and  of  the 
household  economy,  and  a  host  of  other  words  are  also 
echoes  of  our  brotherhood  that  reverberate  from  the 
Ganges  westward  to  the  Golden  Gate.    Max-Miiller  calls 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  2^ 

attention  to  the  fact  "  that  most  of  the  terms  connected 
with  the  chase  and  warfare  differ  in  each  of  the  Aryan 
dialects,  while  words  connected  with  the  more  peaceful 
occupations  belong  generally  to  the  common  heirloom  of 
the  Aryan  language.  ...  It  will  show  that  all  the  Aryan 
nations  had  led  a  long  life  of  peace  before  they  separated, 
and  that  their  language  acquired  individuality  and  na- 
tionality as  each  colony  started  in  search  of  new  homes."^ 

3.  The  Aryan  Invasion.  —  The  Aryans  from  their  en- 
trance into  India  appeared  in  the  character  of  warriors  en- 
deavoring to  wrest  the  Punjab  from  the  original  inhabi- 
tants. Romesh  C.  Dutt,  a  distinguished  writer  from  whom 
we  shall  often  quote,  writes  of  this  struggle :  "  The  story 
of  the  extermination  of  barbarians  by  civilized  races  is 
much  the  same  in  ancient  and  in  modern  times;  and  the 
banks  of  the  Indus  and  its  tributaries  were  cleared  of  their 
aborigines  1,800  years  before  Christ,  much  in  the  same 
way  in  which  the  banks  of  the  great  Mississippi  have  been 
cleared  1,800  years  after  Christ  of  the  many  brave  and 
warlike  Indian  tribes,  who  lived  and  ruled  and  hunted  in 
the  primeval  woods  of  America.'"  Passages  in  the  Rig 
Veda  graphically  picture  the  running  fight  carried  on  be- 
tween the  colonists  and  the  aborigines,  the  deadly  ambush, 
the  awful  Aryan  reprisals,  and  the  terror  inspired  in  the 
dark  aborigines  by  the  unfamiliar  and  terrible  war-horse. 
They  also  testify  to  internecine  struggles,  which  more 
than  once  rent  Aryan  society  in  twain.  In  all  these  con- 
flicts the  immigrants  do  not  fight  alone;  the  gods,  notably 
Indra  and  Varuna,  are  their  powerful  allies,  and  religion 
furnishes  the  inspiration  of  carnage. 

Relics  of  Ancient  Hostility.  —  One  effect  of  this  con- 
stant conflict  with  the  aboriginal  tribes  was  a  sharp  dif- 
ferentiation between  them  and  the  Aryan  conquerors 
which  still  exists,  to  some  extent,  between  the  Hindus  and 

*  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia,  article  Aryan  Race  and  Languages. 
2  Dutt,  .4ncient  India,  p.  13. 


26  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

the  non-Aryan  races.  The  two  words  by  which  the  aborig- 
ines were  known  define  their  subsequent  relations  with  the 
Aryans.  They  were  Dasyus,  signifying  "  enemies,"  and 
Dasas,  or  "  slaves,"  the  latter  appearing  very  commonly 
to-day  in  the  family  names  in  the  lowest  classes  in  Bengal. 
The  new  comers  prided  themselves  on  their  fair  com- 
plexion as  contrasted  with  the  native  **  blackskins." 

4.  Daily  Life  —  Employments.  —  The  ordinary  life  of 
the  Aryan  was  prevailingly  that  of  agriculturists.  Thus 
the  oldest  Georgic  of  the  Aryan  world  begins:  "  i.  We 
will  till  this  field  with  the  Lord  of  the  Field;  may  he 
nourish  our  horses;  may  he  bless  us  thereby.  2.  O  Lord 
of  the  Field !  bestow  on  us  sweet  and  pure  and  butter-like 
and  delicious  and  copious  rain,  even  as  cows  give  us  milk. 
May  the  Lords  of  Water  bless  us."^  As  in  Homeric  times, 
the  chief  who  tilled  large  fields  and  owned  abundant  herds 
became  warrior  when  necessity  arose,  returning  again  to 
his  home  when  the  enemy  was  overcome.  Society  was  not 
yet  divided  into  well-defined  ranks,  and  caste  was  un- 
known. Weaving,  metal  working,  carpentry,  and  architec- 
ture were  also  cultivated. 

The  Family  and  Woman.  —  The  family  was  patriarchal 
with  the  father  at  its  head,  sons  and  grandsons  living  un- 
der the  same  roof.  The  bondage  of  the  Hindu  woman  of 
to-day  was  unknown.  She  was  not  secluded  nor  debarred 
from  her  rightful  place  in  society.  "  A  girl  generally  se- 
lected her  own  husband,  but  her  parents'  wishes  were  for 
the  most  part  respected.  We  have  frequent  allusions  to 
careful  and  industrious  wives  who  superintend  the  ar- 
rangements of  the  house,  and,  like  the  dawn,  roused  every 
one  in  the  morning  and  sent  him  to  his  work.  Girls  who 
remained  unmarried  obtained  a  share  in  the  paternal  prop- 
erty. Widows  could  re-marry  after  the  death  of  their 
husbands. 

Marriage.  —  "  The  ceremony  of  marriage  was  an  appro- 

^  Rig  Veda,  iv.,  57. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  2/ 

priate  one,  and  the  promises  which  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom made  were  suitable  to  the  occasion.  The  bride  was 
a  new-comer  into  her  husband's  family,  and  she  was  re- 
ceived with  appropriate  injunctions.  The  male  servants, 
the  female  servants,  and  the  very  cattle  were  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  the  bride  was  asked  to  be  kind  and  considerate  and 
good  to  them  all.  Free  from  anger  and  with  a  cheerful 
mind,  she  must  not  only  minister  to  her  husband's  happi- 
ness, but  be  devoted  to  the  gods  worshiped  in  the  family 
and  be  kind  to  all  its  dependents.  She  must  extend  her 
gentle  influence  over  her  husband's  father  and  mother,  she 
must  keep  under  due  control  his  brothers  and  sisters,  and 
be  the  queen  of  the  household.  And  thus  she  must  remain, 
united  to  her  husband  until  old  age,  the  virtual  mistress  of 
a  large  and  patriarchal  family,  and  respected  and  honored 
as  Hindu  women  were  honored  in  ancient  times.  .  ,  . 
Sons  inherited  the  property  of  their  father,  and  in  the  ab- 
sence of  sons,  the  daughter's  son  might  be  adopted."* 

5.  Death.  —  Death  was  probably  followed  in  the  ear- 
liest times  by  burial,  though  cremation  soon  came  into 
vogue.  As  we  shall  see,  the  bright  gods  had  been  most 
worshiped  in  life.  Hence  death  was  not  without  its 
visions  of  hope,  as  witness  these  verses  from  an  Aryan 
funeral  chant :  "  O  thou  deceased ;  proceed  to  the  same 
place  where  our  forefathers  have  gone,  by  the  same  path 
which  they  followed.  The  two  kings  Yama  and  Varuna 
are  pleased  with  the  offerings ;  go  and  meet  them. 

"  Proceed  to  that  happy  heaven  and  mix  with  our  fore- 
fathers. Meet  Yama,  and  reap  the  fruits  of  thy  virtuous 
deeds.    Leave  sin  behind ;  enter  thy  home. 

"O  ye  shades!  leave  this  place,  go  away,  move  away. 
For  the  forefathers  have  prepared  a  place  for  the  deceased. 
That  place  is  beautiful  with  day,  with  sparkling  waters 
and  light.    Yama  assigns  this  place  for  the  dead."  '   So  far 

*  Dutt,  Ancient  India,  pp.  23,  24, 
*Rig  Veda,  X.  14,  7-9, 


'28  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

as  the  Rig  Veda  is  concerned,  there  is  no  mention  of  a  hell 
and  future  tortures  to  occasion  somberness  in  life. 

6.  Vedic  Religion.  —  The  key  to  Indian  history  is  like 
that  which  unlocks  Jewish  historical  records;  it  is  the 
key  of  religion.  As  a  leading  watchword  among  certain 
recent  religious  reformers  of  India  is  "  Back  to  the  Ve- 
das !  "  the  early  religion  should  receive  special  attention, 
particularly  the  hymns  found  in  the  Rig  Veda. 

Classifications  of  Deities.  —  While  "  the  hymns  of  the 
Rig  Veda  may  be  divided  into  three  classes,  those  in  which 
are  especially  lauded  the  older  divinities,  those  in  which 
appear  as  most  prominent  the  sacrificial  gods,  and  those 
in  which  a  long-weakened  polytheism  is  giving  place  to  the 
light  of  a  clearer  pantheism,"^  it  is  simpler  to  class  the 
deities  as  to  their  supposed  abode  or  sphere  of  action. 
Thus  "  the  Hindus  themselves  divided  their  gods  into 
highest,  middle  and  lowest,  and  those  of  the  upper  sky, 
the  atmosphere,  and  the  earth. "^ 

(a)  Sky  Deities  —  Sun  God. — Among  the  highest 
deities  the  Sun  God  was  very  prominent.  He  is  pre- 
eminently the  Deva  —  "  shining  "  one,  or  Surya,  "  Sun." 
"  But  he  is  also  an  active  force,  the  power  that  wakens, 
rouses,  enlivens,  and  as  such  it  is  he  that  gives  all  good 
things  to  mortals  and  to  gods.  As  the  god  that  gives  life 
he,  with  others,  is  the  author  of  birth,  and  is  prayed  to 
for  children.  From  above  he  looks  down  upon  earth,  and 
as  with  his  one  or  many  steeds  he  drives  over  the  firma- 
ment he  observes  all  that  is  passing  below.  He  has  these 
—  the  physical  side  and  the  spiritual  side  —  under  two 
names,  the  glowing  one,  Surya,  and  the  enlivener,  Savitar; 
but  he  is  also  the  good  god  who  bestows  benefits,  and  as 
such  he  was  known,  probably  locally,  by  the  name  of 
Bhaga.  Again,  as  a  herdman's  god,  probably  at  first  also 
a  local  deity,  he  is  Pushan  —  the  meaning  is  almost  the 

*  Hopkins,  The  Religions  of  India,  p.  37. 
•Ibid.,  p.  39- 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  2g 

same  with  that  of  Savitar.  As  the  *  mighty  one '  he  is 
Vishnu,  who  measures  heaven  in  three  strides."^ 

Heaven  and  Earth.  —  While  the  Western  Aryan  made 
Zeus  his  chief  god,  his  brother  in  the  Punjab  did  not  give 
his  counterpart  Dyaus,  the  "  shining  sky,"  so  important  a 
place,  though  he  is  regarded  as  father  of  gods,  particu- 
larly of  Dawn  and  Indra.  To  heaven  and  earth,  which 
are  linked  together  in  the  hymns,  are  ascribed  secondary 
functions,  such  as  bringing  the  gods  to  sacrifice,  bestow- 
ing upon  mortals  children,  wealth,  food,  and  the  strength 
of  heroes.  The  two  gods  are  mostly  addressed  with  sac- 
rificial intent. 

Varuna.  —  Varuna,  Greek  Ovpavo's,  is  more  powerful 
and  was  highly  honored.  Though  he  appears  in  a  variety 
of  relations  to  men,  especially  as  a  water-god,  in  the  most 
exalted  representations  of  him  "  his  realm  is  all  above  us ; 
the  sun  and  stars  are  his  eyes.  He  sits  above  upon  his 
golden  throne  and  sees  all  that  passes  below,  even  the 
thoughts  of  men.  He  is,  above  all,  the  moral  controller 
of  the  universe."^  Here  is  a  Vedic  quotation  which  depicts 
this  "  sky-god  of  righteousness "  as  viewed  by  sinning 
men: 

Prayer  for  Forgiveness.  —  "3.  O  Varuna !  with  an 
anxious  heart  I  ask  thee  about  my  sins.  I  have  gone  to 
learned  men  to  make  the  inquiry ;  the  sages  have  all  said  to 
me,  *  Varuna  is  displeased  with  thee.'  .  .  .  4.  O  Varuna ! 
for  what  deed  of  mine  dost  thou  wish  to  destroy  thy 
friend,  thy  worshiper?  O  thou  of  irresistible  power,  de- 
clare it  to  me,  so  that  I  may  quickly  bend  in  adoration  and 
come  to  thee.  5.  O  Varuna !  deliver  us  from  the  sins  of 
our  fathers.  Deliver  us  from  the  sins  committed  in  our 
person.  O  royal  Varuna !  deliver  Vasishtha  like  a  calf 
from  its  tether,  like  a  thief  who  has  feasted  on  a  stolen 
animal.     6.    O  Varuna !  all  this  sin  is  not  wilfully  com- 

*  Hopkins,  The  Religions  of  India,  p.  41. 

•  Ibid.,  p.  62. 


30  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

mitted  by  us.  Error  or  wine,  anger  or  dice,  or  even 
thoughtlessness  has  begotten  sin.  Even  an  elder  brother 
leads  his  younger  astray.  Sin  is  begotten  even  in  our 
dreams.  7.  Freed  from  sins,  I  will  serve  as  a  slave  the 
god  Varuna,  who  fulfills  our  wishes  and  supports  us.  We 
are  ignorant;  may  the  Arya  god  bestow  on  us  knowledge. 
May  the  wise  deity  accept  our  prayer  and  bestow  on  us 
wealth."^ 

Other  Sky  Deities.  —  Other  deities  of  the  sky  are  bound- 
less Aditi,  the  mother  of  Varuna  and  of  the  luminous 
gods,  as  well  as  of  kings;  the  two  phenomenal  deities, 
Dawn  and  Night,  to  whom  some  of  the  most  poetic  of  the 
hymns  are  addressed;  and  the  Asvins,  the  "Twin  Horse- 
men," who  were  variously  interpreted  as  being  Heaven  and 
Earth,  Day  and  Night,  Sun  and  Moon,  Two  Earthly 
Kings,  or,  according  to  the  current  explanation,  Dawn  and 
Gloaming. 

(b)  Gods  of  Mid-air —  Wind.  —  The  atmosphere  lying 
between  earth  and  the  upper  sky  was  alive  with  deities 
which  were  most  needful  for  the  common  life,  and  hence 
they  were  assiduously  worshiped.  The  winds,  named 
Vata  or  Vayu,  constitute  the  invisible  interpretation  of 
divinity.  They  bring  long  life  to  the  worshiper,  but  even 
more  than  this  is  true  of  Vata: 

"  The  friend  is  he  of  waters ; 
First-born  and  holy,  —  where  was  he  created, 
And  whence  arose  he?     Spirit  of  gods  is  Vata, 
Source  of  creation,  goeth  where  he  listeth  ; 
Whose  sound  is  heard,  but  not  his  form."  ' 

Indra  and  Rains.  —  But  as  the  rain  long  delayed  in  its 
coming  to  the  thirsty  Punjab  is  to-day  an  object  of  in- 
tense desire  to  its  inhabitants,  so  in  Vedic  times  Indra, 
pre-eminently   the   rain   bringer,   though   identified   with 

^  Rig  Vedci.  vii.,  86. 

'  Hopkins,  T}\e  Religious  of  India,  p.  89, 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  3 1 

Other  powers,  is  the  oft-invoked  deity  of  the  Aryan.  He 
and  his  allied  Maruts,  or  "Gleaming  Ones,"  led  on  by 
their  father  Rudra,  the  ruddy  thunder,  is  struggling  for 
mastery  with  the  enemy  of  men,  Vritra,  who  tries  in 
vain  to  restrain  the  fertilizing  showers.  The  conflict  ends 
when  Parjanya  finally  scatters  upon  the  earth  the  rain- 
drops, so  arduously  won.  When  it  is  remembered  that  this 
powerful  and  beneficent  friend  of  the  husbandman  is 
also  a  helper  of  the  warrior,  these  two  stanzas  from  a 
hymn  to  Indra  will  not  appear  extravagant: 

"  'Tis  Indra  all   (our)  songs  extol. 
Him  huge  as  ocean  in  extent; 
Of  warriors  chiefest  warrior  he, 
Lord,  truest  lord,  for  booty's  gain. 

"  In  friendship,  Indra,  strong  as  thine 
Naught  will  we  fear,  O  lord  of  strength ; 
To  thee  we  our  laudations  sing, 
The    conqueror    unconquered."  ^ 

(c)  Terrestrial  Gods  —  Agni.  —  As  Indra  was  greater 
in  the  popular  conception  than  the  heavenly  gods,  so  that 
powerful  deity  of  mid-air  is  eclipsed  by  Agni  and  Soma, 
gods  of  the  earth.  Agni  is  at  once  the  fire  of  the  altar, 
of  Indra's  lightning,  and  of  the  far  distant  sun ;  but  from 
this  "  triality "  he  emerges  most  commonly  as  the  altar 
fire.  "  He  appealed  to  man  as  the  best  friend  among  divine 
beings;  he  was  not  far  off,  to  be  wondered  at;  if  terrible, 
to  be  propitiated.  He  was  near  and  kind  to  friends.  And 
as  he  seemed  to  the  vulgar,  so  he  appealed  to  the  theosophy 
which  permeates  the  spirit  of  the  poets;  for  he  is  myste- 
rious; a  mediator  between  god  and  man — in  carrying  to 
heaven  the  offerings;  a  three-fold  unity,  typical  of  earth, 
atmosphere,  and  heaven."'  He  is  also  at  once  the  house 
priest  and  the  summoner  of  the  gods  to  the  sacrifice. 

^  Rig  Veda,  i.,  ii. 

'Hopkins,  The  Religions  of  Indie,  p.  io6, 


32  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

Soma.  —  Older  than  its  Vedic  deification  is  the  honor 
bestowed  upon  the  moon-plant,  Soma,  whose  intoxicating 
drink  is  inseparably  connected  with  the  worship  of  Indra 
and  Agni.  Its  claim  to  deity  seems  to  be  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  exhilarating  effect  of  intoxication  was  regarded 
as  proof  positive  of  the  inherent  divinity  of  the  moon- 
plant's  juice.  Indra's  greatest  deeds  were  done  when 
under  the  spell  of  the  Soma  intoxicant,  and  upon  it  de- 
pends the  immortality  of  all  gods.  It  is  "  Soma  who 
overthrows  cities.  Soma  who  begets  the  gods,  creates  the 
sun,  upholds  the  sky,  prolongs  life,  sees  all  things,  and 
is  the  one  best  friend  of  god  and  man,  the  divine  drop, 
the  friend  of  Indra."^ 

Yanta.  —  All  the  gods  thus  far  mentioned  are  capable 
of  being  considered  creations  of  a  nature  worship.  An- 
other great  deity  not  capable  of  such  an  interpretation  is 
Yama,  "  first  of  mortals,"  who  later  became  king  of  the 
dead.  "  As  Yama  was  the  first  to  die,  so  was  he  the  first 
to  teach  men  the  road  to  immortality,  which  lies  through 
sacrifice,  whereby  man  attains  to  heaven  and  to  immor- 
tality.'" 

Yama's  Heaven.  —  The  nostalgia  that  affected  the 
Aryan  who  longed  for  Yama's  realm  is  well  voiced  in  the 
following  Vedic  hymn :  "  7.  Flowing  Soma !  take  me 
to  that  immortal  and  imperishable  abode  where  light  dwells 
eternal,  and  which  is  in  heaven.  Flow,  Soma !  for  Indra. 
8.  Take  me  where  Yama  is  king,  where  are  the  gates  of 
heaven,  and  where  mighty  rivers  flow.  Take  me  there  and 
make  me  immortal.  Flow,  Soma!  for  Indra.  9.  Take 
me  where  is  the  third  heaven,  where  is  the  third  realm  of 
light  above  the  sky,  and  where  one  can  wander  at  his 
will.  Take  me  there,  and  make  me  immortal.  Flow, 
Soma!  for  Indra.  10.  Take  me  where  every  desire  is 
satiated,  where  Pradhma  has  his  abode,  where  there  is 

*  Hopkins,  The  Religions  of  India,  p.  113. 
•Ibid.,  p.    130. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  33 

food  and  contentment.  Take  me.  there  and  make  me  im- 
mortal. Flow,  Soma!  for  Indra.  ii.  Take  me  where 
there  are  pleasures  and  joys  and  delights,  and  where 
every  desire  of  the  anxious  heart  is  satiated.  Take  me 
there,  and  make  me  immortal.  Flow,  Soma !  for  Indra.'" 
P^cJic  Henothcism.  —  Portions  of  the  Veda  which 
seem  to  be  most  recent  indicate  that  the  earlier  polytheism 
became,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  period,  what  Max-Miiller 
calls  henotheism  —  one-godism.  Hopkins  designates  it 
as  pantheistic  polytheism,  and  Professor  Lehman  calls  it 
syncretism.  The  names  of  the  many  gods  —  in  the  above 
summary  only  a  very  brief  list  is  given  —  appear  now  as 
appellations  of  one  great  power,  "  the  Father  and  Creator 
of  all."  While  the  following  sublime  hymn  to  the  supreme 
deity  of  the  Aryans  is  in  its  opening  sentences  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  first  words  of  Genesis,  "  In  the  beginning 
God,"  much  of  it  would  apply  to  the  descriptions  of 
Jehovah  as  found  in  many  Old  Testament  passages : 

"What  god  shall  we  adore  with  sacrifice? 

Him  let  us  praise,  the  golden  child  that  rose 

In  the  beginning,  who  was  born  the  lord  — 

The  one  sole  lord  of  all  that  is  —  who  made 

The  earth,  and  formed  the  sky,  who  giveth  life, 

Who  giveth   strength,   whose  bidding  gods  revere, 

Whose    hiding    place    is    immortality. 

Whose  shadow,  death  ;  who  by  his  might  is  king 

Of    all    the    breathing,    sleeping,    waking   world. 

Where'er  let  loose   in   space,   the  mighty  waters 

Have    gone,    depositing   a    fruitful   seed. 

And   generating   fire   there   he   arose 

Who   is   the   breath   and   life   of  all   the  gods, 

Whose  mighty  glance  looks  round  the  vast  expanse 

Of  watery  vapor  —  source  of  energy. 

Cause  of  the  sacrifice  —  the  only  God 

Above  the  gods." ' 

^  Rig   Veda,  xi.,   113. 

*  Monier-Williams,  Brahmatiism   and  Hinduism,   p.    14. 


34  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 


III.    The  Epic  Period,  1400-1000  b.  c. 

1.  Hindu  Expansion.  —  The  Aryan  immigrants  of  the 
Vedic  age  had  formed  settlements  in  Northwestern  India 
along  the  Indus  and  its  tributaries.  In  the  period  now 
under  consideration  the  Aryans,  or  preferably  in  the  subse- 
quent history,  the  Hindus,  spread  southeastward  into  the 
Ganges  valley  as  far  as  Benares  and  Behar,  establishing 
kingdoms  as  they  went.  The  new  and  more  favorable  en- 
vironment caused  these  peoples  to  excel  their  early 
achievements  in  the  Punjab,  leading  to  an  expansion  of 
thought  and  an  extension  of  culture  quite  as  noteworthy 
as  was  their  enlargement  of  territory.  Their  military 
deeds,  their  heroisms,  their  daily  life,  and  their  religious 
aspirations  are  set  forth  in  the  later  portions  of  the  Vedas, 
and  especially  in  the  two  great  epics  of  India  relating  to 
this  period,  the  Mahabharata  and  the  Raviayana.  It  must 
not  be  supposed  that  the  epics  were  composed  during  this 
period,  however,  nor  is  it  even  certain  that  the  events  nar- 
rated were  as  early  as  the  centuries  under  consideration. 

2.  The  Mahabharata.  —  The  Kurus,  a  later  appellation 
of  the  Bharatas  derived  from  the  name  of  their  kings,  and 
the  Panchalas,  "  Five  Tribes,"  were  prominent  and  neigh- 
boring kingdoms  of  the  early  time.  Friendly  rivalry  in 
the  pursuits  of  peace  eventuated  in  jealousies,  and  finally, 
more  than  one  thousand  years  before  our  era,  they  ended 
in  the  famous  war  which  is  the  background  of  the  great 
epic,  the  Mahabharata,  "  the  great  Bharata."  Its  heroes 
are  the  five  sons  of  Pandu,  allies  probably  of  the  Pan- 
chalas; and  their  common  wife,  daughter  of  the  king  of 
the  Panchalas,  is  the  heroine.  Only  about  one-fourth  of 
the  poem  is  devoted  to  the  war  itself,  in  which  the  Pan- 
chalas were  victorious.  Its  value  lies  in  its  episodal  ma- 
terial, including  cosmogony,  theogony,  law,  religions, 
morals;    so    that    "the    Mahabharata    gradually    became 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  3S 

a  collection  of  all  that  was  needed  to  be  known  by  an 
educated  Hindu,  in  fact,  it  became  the  encyclopedia  of 
India." 

3.  The  Ramayana.  —  The  other  great  Indian  epic,  the 
Ramayana,  is  superior  to  the  Mahabharata  in  literary 
value,  and- was  possibly  the  product  of  a  single  poet,  tra- 
dition doubtfully  says  Valmiki.  Unlike  its  cyclopedic 
rival,  the  Ramayana  is  wholly  devoted  to  the  history  of 
Rama,  eldest  son  of  the  king  of  the  Kosalas.  They,  the 
Videhas,  the  daughter  of  whose  king  Rama  marries,  and 
the  Kasis  —  the  name  perpetuated  in  India's  holy  city, 
Kasi  or  Benares  —  were  other  leading  peoples  of  the  epic 
period.  Of  Rama  and  his  much-enduring  wife,  whose 
warrings,  trials  and  wanderings  are  depicted  in  the  poem, 
a  native  writer  says :  "  There  is  not  a  Hindu  woman  in 
the  length  and  breadth  of  India  to  whom  the  story  of  the 
suffering  Sita  is  not  known,  and  to  whom  her  character  is 
not  a  model  and  a  pattern;  and  Rama,  too,  is  a  model  to 
men  for  his  faithfulness,  his  obedience,  and  his  piety." 

4.  Social  Changes.  —  The  age  described  in  these  epics 
exhibits  many  changes,  some  of  which  developed  later  into 
India's  most  harmful  institutions.  As  has  been  seen,  the 
loose  tribal  confederation  of  Vedic  times  had  developed  a 
number  of  well  compacted  nations.  The  maintenance  of 
peace  and  the  extension  of  territory  necessitated  a  force 
of  warriors  at  whose  head  was,  not  one  of  themselves  tem- 
porarily leading  his  forces,  who  later  returned  to  his  flocks 
and  fields  as  in  the  earlier  times,  but  a  king  with  his 
retinue  of  attendants.  This  force  so  effectually  protected 
the  masses  that  they  no  longer  needed  to  bear  arms,  and 
yielding  to  the  enervating  effects  of  the  climate,  they  be- 
came Vaisyas  devoted  to  agriculture  and  other  pursuits 
of  peace.  The  simple  faith  of  the  Rig  Veda  had  gradually 
developed  into  stately  and  burdensome  forms,  with  sacri- 
fices innumerable.  In  order  to  rightly  perform  these  sac- 
rifices and  the  accompanying  ritual,  a  priesthood  came 


36  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPi'URTUNitY 

into  existence  and  the  "  families  who  knew  these  holy 
words  by  heart  became  the  hereditary  owners  of  the  Htur- 
gies  required  at  the  most  solemn  offerings  to  the  gods. 
Members  of  such  households  were  chosen  again  and  again 
to  conduct  the  tribal  sacrifices,  to  chant  the  battle  hymn, 
to  implore  the  divine  aid,  or  to  pray  away  the  divine  wrath. 
Even  the  early  Rig  Veda  recognizes  the  importance  of 
these  sacrifices.  *  That  king,'  says  a  verse,  '  before  whom 
marches  the  priest,  he  alone  dwells  well  established  in  his 
own  house;  to  him  the  people  bow  down.  The  king  who 
gives  wealth  to  the  priest,  he  will  conquer;  him  the  gods 
will  protect.'  The  tribesmen  first  hoped,  then  believed, 
that  a  hymn  or  prayer  which  had  once  acted  successfully 
and  been  followed  by  victory,  would  again  produce  the 
same  results.  ...  By  degrees  a  vast  array  of  ministrants 
grew  up  around  each  of  the  greater  sacrifices.  There 
were  first  the  officiating  priests  and  their  assistants,  who 
prepared  the  sacrificial  ground,  dressed  the  altar,  slew 
the  victims,  and  poured  out  the  libations;  second,  the 
chanters  of  the  Vedic  hymns;  third,  the  reciters  of  other 
parts  of  the  service;  fourth,  the  superior  priests,  who 
watched  over  the  whole,  and  corrected  mistakes." 

The  Four  Castes.  —  It  was  but  a  short  step  from  the  con- 
ditions just  named  to  that  system  which  was  the  pregnant 
seed  of  the  modern  institution  of  caste,  India's  greatest  in- 
cubus to-day.  In  addition  to  the  indispensable  propitiators 
of  the  gods,  the  priests,  or  Brahmans,  were  the  warriors 
known  as  Kshattriyas,  some  of  whom  are  to-day  called  Raj- 
puts, especially  those  in  the  province  of  Rajputana.  Next  in 
order  came  the  husbandmen,  who  retained  their  old  name, 
Vaisyas,  from  the  root  vis,  which,  in  Vedic  times  was 
applied  to  the  whole  "people."  "These  three  classes 
gradually  became  separate  castes;  intermarriage  between 
them  was  forbidden,  and  each  kept  more  and  more  strictly 
to  its  hereditary  employment.  But  they  were  all  recog- 
nized as  belonging  to  the  *  Twice-born.*  or  Aryan  race; 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  37 

they  were  all  present  at  the  great  national  sacrifices,  and 
all  worshipped  the  same  Bright  Gods.  Beneath  them  was 
a  fourth  or  servile  class,  called  Sudras,  the  remnants  of 
the  vanquished  aboriginal  tribes  whose  lives  had  been 
spared.  These  were  '  the  slave-bands  of  black  descent,' 
the  Dasas  of  the  Veda.  They  were  distinguished  from 
their  *  Twice-born  '  Aryan  conquerors  as  being  only  '  Once- 
born,'  and  by  many  contemptuous  epithets.  They  were 
not  allowed  to  be  present  at  the  great  national  sacrifices, 
or  at  the  feasts  which  followed  them.  They  could  never 
rise  out  of  their  servile  condition;  and  to  them  was  as- 
signed the  severest  toil  in  the  fields,  and  all  the  hard  and 
dirty  work  of  the  village  community."^ 

Woman  in  Society.  —  The  status  of  woman  was  still 
honorable.  Child-marriage  was  unknown,  and  widows 
were  allowed  to  remarry.  The  influence  of  women  in 
society  was  extensively  felt,  and  at  the  trials  of  skill  and 
manly  strength  they  were  central  figures  among  the  spec- 
tators. While  the  epics  contain  innuendos  and  open  as- 
saults on  womanhood,  the  following  Hnes  from  the  Maha- 
bharata  contain  a  truer  estimate  of  the  women  of  the 

time; 

"  The  weary  man  whom  toils  oppress, 

When    travelling    through    life's    wilderness, 

Finds  in  his  spouse  a  place  of  rest, 

And   there   abides,   refreshed   and   blest. 

Although  with  children  bright  it  teems. 

And    full    of   light   and   gladness    seems, 

A   man's    abode,    without   a   wife, 

Is  empty,  lacks  its  real  life. 

The  housewife  makes  the  house;  bereft 

Of  her,  a  gloomy  waste  'tis  left. 

Thou  sayest  right ;  for  all  the  ills  of  life 

No  cure  exists,  my  fair  one,  like  a  wife."  * 

5.  Religion  in  the  Epic  Age.  —  It  was  this  period  which 
witnessed  the  permanent  collection  of  the  great  canonical 

*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  132. 

•  Murdoch,  Women  of  India,  p.  5. 


38  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN  OPPORTUNITV 

books  of  the  Aryans.  The  Vcdas  —  **  Inspired  knowl- 
edge" —  had  existed  in  the  memory  and  upon  the  lips  of 
the  Rishi  and  the  more  intelligent  among  the  people  dur- 
ing the  Vedic  period;  now  and  in  the  following  period 
they  assume  written  form  in  four  collections  or  Sanhitas. 
For  the  sake  of  clearness  in  presenting  this  literature,  later 
works  and  revisions  are  named  with  those  clearly  belong- 
ing to  the  epic  age. 

(a)  The  Aryan  Sacred  Literature  —  Vedas.  —  "The 
Rig  Veda  exhibits  the  hymns  in  their  simplest  form,  ar- 
ranged in  ten  '  circles/  according  to  the  families  of  their 
composers,  the  Rishis.  .  .  .  The  second,  or  Sania  Veda, 
was  made  up  of  extracts  from  the  Rig  Vedic  hymns  used  at 
the  Soma  sacrifice.  Some  of  its  verses  stamp  themselves, 
by  their  antiquated  grammatical  form,  as  older  than  their 
rendering  in  the  Rig  Veda  itself.  The  third,  or  Yajur 
Veda,  consists  not  only  of  Rig  Vedic  verses,  but  also  of 
prose  sentences,  to  be  used  at  the  sacrifices  of  the  New 
and  Full  Moon,  and  at  the  Great  Horse-Sacrifice,  when 
609  animals  of  various  kinds  were  offered,  perhaps  in  sub- 
stitution for  an  earlier  Man-Sacrifice,  which  is  also  men- 
tioned in  the  Yajur  Veda.  The  Yajur  Veda  is  divided  into 
two  editions,  the  Black  and  the  White  Yajur;  both  belong 
ing  to  a  more  modern  period  than  either  the  Rig  or  the 
Sama  Vedas,  and  composed  after  the  Aryans  had  spread  far 
to  the  east  of  the  Indus.  The  fourth,  or  Atharva  Veda, 
was  compiled  from  the  least  ancient  hymns  of  the  Rig 
Veda  in  the  tenth  book,  and  from  the  still  later  songs  of 
the  Brahmans,  after  they  had  established  their  priestly 
power.  It  supplies  the  connecting  link  between  the  simple 
Aryan  worship  of  the  Shining  Ones,  exhibited  in  the  Rig 
Veda,  and  the  complex  Brahmanical  system  which  fol- 
lowed. It  was  only  allowed  to  rank  as  part  of  the  Veda 
after  a  long  struggle."^ 

Auxiliary  Literature  —  Brahmanas.  —  To  each  of  these 

'  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  pp.   129,  130. 


SO^E  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  39 

four  Vedas  was  attached  a  Brahmana,  a  prose  treatise, 
more  fully  explaining  the  ritual  and  the  functions  of  the 
officiating  priest,  and  also  laying  down  religious  prin- 
ciples and  dogmas.  These,  with  the  Vedas  themselves, 
form  the  Sruti  or  things  literally  "  heard  "  from  God,  and 
so  they  constitute  the  Revealed  Scriptures  of  the  Hindus. 

Aranyakas  and  Upanishads.  —  Closely  connected  with 
the  Brahmanas  were  two  other  classes  of  writings,  the 
product  of  this  period.  They  are  the  Aranyakas,  the 
'*  forest  treatises,"  which  were  so  called  because  they  dis- 
cussed elements  so  abstruse  that  the  seclusion  of  the  an- 
chorite  was  required  for  their  proper  mastery,  and  the 
Upanishads,  or  "  secret  doctrine."  These  latter,  which 
are  also  classed  among  the  Sruti,  and  whose  number  is 
variously  reckoned  as  from  io8  to  235,  treat  of  the  nature 
of  the  Brahman,  or  Supreme  Spirit,  and  the  means  of 
union  with  him,  of  certain  systems  of  philosophy,  and  of 
later  identifications  of  the  Supreme  Being  with  forms  of 
Vishnu,  Siva,  etc.  It  is  this  work  that  created  so  great 
an  enthusiasm  for  Indian  religion  in  Europe  in  the  days  of 
Schopenhauer  and  Schelling,  so  that  the  former  could  say 
of  their  study,  "  It  has  been  the  solace  of  my  life,  it  will 
be  the  solace  of  my  death,"^  but  the  influence  of  the  Upan- 
ishads has  been  far  more  wide-reaching  in  India  itself 
through  the  impulse  transmitted  by  Rammohun  Roy  and 
subsequent  renewers  of  the  ancient  religion  of  the  Brah- 
mans.  The  reformer  just  named,  who  expressed  in  equiv- 
ocal terms  his  belief  in  the  divine  authority  of  Jesus 
Christ,'  and  who  rejected  the  Puranas,  must  have  seen  in 
these  speculations  something  which  he  regarded  as  of 
divine  authority,  yet  an  Occidental  reader  of  the  transla- 
tion will  find  in  them  very  much  that  is  puerile  and 
unworthy,  mingled  with  some  fine  gold. 

Transmigration.  —  One  of  the  most  fundamental  ideas 

^  Schopenhauer,  Parerga,  3d  ed.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  426. 
*  i^^arpenter,  Last  Days  of  Rammolitin  Roy,  p.  135. 


40  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

of  Indian  religion  first  obtained  clear  expression  in  the 
UpaiiisJiads,  namely,  that  of  transmigration,  which  Sir 
Monier-Williams  characterizes  as  "  the  one  haunting 
thought  which  colors  the  whole  texture  of  Indian  phil- 
osophy."^ It  rests  upon  a  belief  in  man's  kinship  with 
every  grade  of  being  from  the  plant  to  deities,  and  is  con- 
nected with  the  inherent  belief  in  the  inevitability  of  retri- 
bution.' "  Those  whose  conduct  has  been  good  will 
quickly  attain  some  good  birth,  the  birth  of  a  Brahmana, 
or  a  Kshattriya,  or  a  Vaisya.  But  those  whose  conduct 
has  been  evil  will  quickly  attain  an  evil  birth,  the  birth 
of  a  dog,  or  a  hog,  or  a  Kandala.'" 

(b)  Religion  and  Hindu  Sciences. —  By-products  of  this 
more  highly  organized  religion  are  found  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  sciences  in  the  epic  period.  Dr.  Thibaut  attrib- 
utes the  rise  of  Indian  astronomy  to  the  necessity  of 
knowing  the  exact  time  for  certain  sacrifices,  while  the 
laws  of  phonetics  were  investigated  because  the  wrath 
of  the  gods  followed  the  wrong  pronunciation  of  a  single 
letter.  Grammar  and  etymology  were  also  studied,  since 
they  had  the  task  of  interpreting  the  sacred  texts.  Arith- 
metic, pre-eminently  a  Hindu  science,  was  likewise  devel- 
oped during  this  age.* 

(c)  Popular  Religion.  —  Religion  of  the  daily  life  was 
becoming  more  formal,  yet  in  spite  of  the  growing  influ- 
ence of  the  Brahmans  there  still  existed  considerable  per- 
sonal and  formal  religion.  "  While  kings  and  wealthy 
men  delighted  in  elaborate  sacrifices,  all  pious  Hindus,  be 
they  rich  or  poor,  performed  their  little  rites  at  their 
domestic  firesides.  No  idol  was  worshipped,  and  no 
temple  was  known;  the  descendants  of  the  Vedic  Hindus 
still  went  through  their  religious  ceremonies  in  their  own 

*  Monier-Williams,  Brahmanism  and  Hinduism,  p.  26. 
'Progress,  November,   1897,  P-   ^96. 

'  Max-Miiller,  The  Upanishads,  vol.  i.,  p.  82. 

*  Dutt,  Ancient  India,  pp.  62,  63. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  4 1 

homes,   and  offered  oblations  and  prayers   according  to 
ancient  rule. 

The  Ideal  Man.  — "  Hospitality  to  strangers  is  pre- 
scribed as  a  religious  obligation,  while  the  essence  of  a 
Hindu's  duties  is  inculcated  in  such  passages  as  these : 
Speak  the  truth.  Do  thy  duty.  Do  not  neglect  the  study 
of  the  Veda.  After  having  brought  to  thy  teacher  the 
proper  reward,  marry  and  beget  children.  Do  not  swerve 
from  the  truth.  Do  not  swerve  from  duty.  Do  not  neg- 
lect what  is  useful.  Do  not  neglect  greatness.  Do  not 
neglect  the  teaching  of  the  Veda.  Do  not  neglect  the  sac- 
rifices due  to  the  gods  and  the  fathers.  Let  thy  mother 
be  to  thee  like  unto  a  god.  Let  thy  father  be  to  thee  like 
unto  a  god.  Blameless  acts  should  be  regarded,  not 
others.  Good  works  performed  by  us  should  be  regarded 
by  thee."' 

IV.    Period  of  Territorial  and  Intellectual  Expan- 
sion, 1000-320  B.  c. 

I.  General  Character  of  the  Period.  —  A  native  author- 
ity, T.  J.  Desai,  regards  these  centuries  as  including  per- 
haps the  most  brilliant  period  of  Hindu  history.  "  It  was 
in  this  period  that  the  Aryans  issued  out  of  the  Gangetic 
valley,  spread  themselves  far  and  wide,  and  introduced 
Hindu  civilization  and  founded  Hindu  kingdoms  as  far 
as  the  southernmost  limits  of  India.  IMagadha,  or  South 
Behar,  which  was  already  known  to  the  Hindus  in  the 
epic  period,  was  completely  Hinduized  in  this  epoch; 
and  the  young  and  powerful  kingdom  founded  here  soon 
eclipsed  all  the  ancient  kingdoms  of  the  Gangetic  valley. 
Buddhism  spread  from  Magadha  to  surrounding  king- 
doms, and  when  Chandra  Gupta,  the  contemporary  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  brought  the  whole  of  Northern 
India  into  one  great  empire,  the  epoch  ends  and  the  next 

*  Dutt,   Ancient   India,   pp.   60,   61. 


42  INDIA   x\ND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

one  begins.'"  While  the  Hindus  had  thus  spread  through- 
out India,  its  southern  and  eastern  portions  were  still 
mainly  non-Aryan,  though  these  sections  had  taken  on 
a  veneer  of  Hindu  religion  and  civiHzation. 

2.  Intellectual  Expansion  —  Science.  —  It  is  evident 
from  the  foregoing  that  the  Hindus  of  this  period  were 
valiant  warriors  and  fairly  successful  civilizers  of  rude 
tribes;  but  what  of  those  who  remained  in  their  more  cen- 
tral homes  along  the  Ganges?  Learning  flourished, 
spurred  on  mainly  by  the  demands  of  religion.  Geometry, 
which  had  its  beginning  in  the  epic  age,  was  now  form- 
ally set  forth  in  the  Siilva  Sutras  of  the  eighth  century. 
It  was  necessitated  by  the  minute  specifications  as  to  altar 
construction  and  this  at  a  period  prior  by  a  century  or 
two  to  the  work  of  Thales  and  Pythagoras,  the  reputed 
founders  of  the  science  in  the  West.  The  decimal  nota- 
tion, unknown  to  Greeks  and  Romans  and  introduced  into 
Europe  by  Arabs  returning  from  India,  was  in  common 
use.  Our  so-called  Arabic  numerals  were  derived  from 
India.  They  are  variations  of  the  abbreviated  forms  of 
initials  of  Sanskrit  names  of  the  numerals,  zero,  e.  g., 
representing  the  first  letter  of  the  word  for  empty.* 
Algebra  was  also  cultivated  by  the  Brahmans.  As  Dr. 
Wise  has  shown,  Hippocrates,  the  father  of  Greek  Medi- 
cine, borrowed  his  materia  inedica  from  the  Hindus.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  Alexander  the  Great  maintained  Hindu  phy- 
sicians in  his  camp  in  order  to  treat  diseases  which  Greek 
practitioners  could  not  heal."  European  medicine  down 
to  the  seventh  century  was  based  upon  the  Arabic  which, 
in  turn,  depended  upon  early  translation  of  Sanskrit  medi- 
cal treatises.  While  the  acme  of  the  healing  art  was  not 
reached  until  later,  the  pharmacy,  dissecting  and  surgery 
of  the  Hindus  was  remarkable  during  these  centuries."* 

1  India,  Ceylon,  etc.,  pp.  298,  299. 

»  See  Taylor,  The  Alphabet,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  236-268. 

•  Dutt,  Ancient  India,  p.   95. 

*  For  details  consult  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  pp.    148-150. 


SOME   HISTORICAL  FACTORS  43 

Philosophy.  —  But  it  was  in  the  field  of  philosophy  and 
logic  that  the  Hindus  of  this  age  achieved  their  highest 
fame.  Indeed  this  factor  is  so  prominent  that  some  Indian 
writers  have  called  these  centuries  the  Philosophical  or 
Rationalistic  Age.  The  Sankhya  —  Synthesis  —  philos- 
ophy of  Kapila  dates  probably  from  the  seventh  century, 
and  according  to  Davies  it  is  "  the  earliest  recorded  sys- 
tem of  philosophy."  In  his  viev^  the  German  systems  of 
Schopenhauer  and  Hartmann  are  merely  a  "  reproduction 
of  the  philosophic  system  of  Kapila  in  its  materialistic 
part,  presented  in  a  more  elaborate  form,  but  on  the  same 
fundamental  lines.'" 

Its  Six  Schools.  —  The  Shat  Sastras  or  "  Six  Instru- 
ments of  True  Teaching,"  also  called  Shad  Darsanas,  or 
"  Six  Demonstrations  of  Truth,"  were  probably  written 
'during  this  period  and  at  any  rate  contained  the  views  of 
the  time.  They  are  as  follows :  Nyaya,  founded  by 
Gautama;  Vaiseshika,  by  Kanada;  Sankhya,  by  Kapila; 
Yoga,  by  Patau jali;  Mimansa,  by  Jaimini ;  Vedanta,  by 
Badarayana  or  Vyasa.  Into  the  intricacies  of  these  mu- 
tually conflicting  systems  we  cannot  enter,  but  would 
jefer  the  reader  to  other  sources.^  The  Nyaya  system  con- 
'tains  in  its  early  part  the  basis  of  Hindu  logic  with  its 
ifamous  syllogism  of  five  terms.  The  Yoga  and  Vedanta 
systems  are  of  especial  interest  to  the  missionary  because 
of  their  closer  relation  to  modern  ascetic  practices  and 
religious  reform. 

3.  Popular  Religion.  —  While  most  of  the  works  named 
above  have  to  do  with  religion,  such  abstruse  speculations 
did  not  largely  affect  the  masses.  They  were  more  inter- 
ested in  some  of  the  Sutras  —  literally  strings  —  which 
were  collections  of  aphorisms  deduced  from  the  Brahman  a 
literature  of  the  epic  period.    Rigid  condensation  was  the 

*  Dutt,  Ancient  India,  p.  96. 

"For  summaries  see  Monier- Williams,  Hinduism,  pp.  187-206,  and 
his  Indian  Wisdom,  pp.  48-126,  and  Mitchell,  Hinduism  Past  and  Present, 
pp.    55-70. 


44  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

fashion  of  the  time,  as  witnesses  the  proverb,  "  An  author 
rejoices  in  the  economizing  of  half  a  short  vowel  as  much 
as  in  the  birth  of  a  son."  Hence  in  these  Sutras  the 
priest  had  put  in  briefest  form  the  essence  of  the  sacred 
books  for  the  guidance  of  the  people.  The  two  which 
most  concerned  them  were  the  house  ritual,  Grihya  Sutras, 
and  the  law  ritual,  or  DJiarma  Sutras,  the  reputed  work 
of  Father  Manu  and  Yajnavalkya.  How  largely  they 
entered  into  the  life  may  be  gathered  from  Professor  Hop- 
kins's statement:  "  For  every  change  in  life  there  was  an 
appropriate  ceremony  and  a  religious  observance;  for 
every  day,  oblations  three  at  least ;  for  every  fortnight  and 
season,  a  sacrifice.  Religious  formulae  were  said  over 
the  child  yet  unborn.  From  the  moment  of  birth  he  was 
surrounded  with  observances.  At  such  and  such  a  time 
the  child's  head  was  shaved;  he  was  taken  out  to  look 
at  the  sun;  made  to  eat  from  a  golden  spoon;  invested 
with  the  sacred  cord,  etc.,  etc.  When  grown  up,  a  certain 
number  of  years  were  passed  with  a  guru,  or  tutor,  who 
taught  the  boy  his  Veda,  and  to  whom  he  acted  as  body- 
servant,  a  study  and  office  often  cut  short  in  the  case  of 
Aryans  who  were  not  priests.  Of  the  sacraments  alone, 
such  as  the  observances  to  which  we  have  just  alluded, 
there  are  no  less  than  forty  according  to  Gautama's  laws 
—  the  name-rite,  eating-rite,  etc.  The  pious  householder 
who  had  once  set  up  his  own  fire,  that  is,  got  married, 
must  have  spent  most  of  his  time,  if  he  followed  directions, 
in  attending  to  some  religious  ceremony.  He  had  several 
little  rites  to  attend  to  even  before  he  might  say  his 
prayers  in  the  morning;  and  since  even  to-day  most  of 
these  personal  regulations  are  dutifully  observed,  one  may 
assume  that  in  the  full  power  of  Brahmanhood  they  were 
very  straitly  enforced."^ 

Ancestor  Worship.  —  The  most  important  of  the  house- 
hold rites  was  the  Sraddha  periodically  offered  to  deceased 

*  Hopkins,   Religions  of   India,   pp.    245,   246. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  45 

ancestors.  These  Pitri  —  Fathers,  or  Manes  —  were  hon- 
ored in  Vedic  times,  but  from  this  period  to  the  present 
day  the  worship  has  been  so  prominent  that  Professor 
Bhattacharjya  is  led  to  make  so  extreme  a  statement  as 
the  following  concerning  it:  *'  Ancestor  worship,  in  some 
form  or  other,  is  the  beginning,  the  middle  and  the  end  of 
what  is  known  as  the  Hindu  religion."  It  is  a  most  impor- 
tant part  of  a  son's  duty  to  see  that  the  departed  parent 
is  provided  with  an  intermediate  body  and  enabled  to  per- 
form the  terrible  journey  to  Yama. 

4.  Buddhism.  —  The  greatest  contribution  of  this 
period  to  the  Asiatic  world  was  Buddhism.  Gautama,^ 
"  The  Buddha,"  that  is,  "  The  Enlightened,"  was  born, 
according  to  one  of  many  conflicting  views,  in  557  b.  c. 
The  leading  facts  in  his  life,  with  the  dates  as  based  upon 
that  birth  year,  are  as  follows :' 

Leading  Facts  and  Dates.  b.  c. 

Born  near  Kapilavastu 557 

His    marriage    with    Yasodhara 538 

Left  his  home,  wife  and  infant 528 

Became    enlightened    at    Buddha-Gaya,    and    pro- 
claimed   his    religion    at    Benares 522 

Revisited    his    home 521 

His  father,   Suddhodana,  died,  and  his  stepmother 

and    wife    joined    the    Order 517 

His    son,    Rahula,    joined    the    Order 508 

Yasodhara's    father    died        507 

Gautama     died         477 

*  The  name  Gautama  is  that  of  the  great  "  Solar "  race  of  which 
his  family  was  a  branch,  and  is  also  borne  by  two  noted  persons  of 
this  period;  one,  the  distinguished  logician,  the  other,  a  writer  of 
Dharma  Sutras.  Other  common  appellations  of  Buddha  are:  Siddhartha, 
"  he  who  has  accomplished  his  aim,"  which  was  his  personal  name;  Sakya. 
Gautama's  tribal  name;  Sakya-muni,  the  Sakya  saga;  Sakya-sinha,  the 
Sakya  lion;  Sramana,  "Ascetic";  Bhagava,  "The  Blessed";  Dharma- 
raja,  "King  of  Righteousness";  Jina,  "Conqueror";  Sugata,  "The 
Happy  One";  Sattha,  "The  Teacher";  L«ka-natha,  "Lord  of  the 
World";  and  the  Sarvajna,  "Omniscient  One."  —  Davids,  Buddhism, 
p.  28. 

*  India,  Ceylon,  etc.,  p.  301. 


46  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITV 

Buddha's  Daily  Work.  —  Oldenberg  furnishes  this  de- 
scription of  Buddha's  daily  Hfe :  **  He,  as  well  as  his 
disciples,  rises  early,  when  the  light  of  dawn  appears  in 
the  sky,  and  spends  the  early  morning  in  spiritual  exercise 
or  in  converse  with  his  disciples,  and  then  he  proceeds 
with  his  companions  towards  the  town.  In  the  days  when 
his  reputation  stood  at  its  highest  point,  and  his  name  was 
named  throughout  India  among  the  foremost  names,  one 
might  day  by  day  see  that  man,  before  whom  kings  bowed 
themselves,  alms-bowl  in  hand,  going  through  streets  and 
alleys,  from  house  to  house,  and  without  uttering  any 
request,  with  downcast  look,  stand  silently  waiting  until 
a  morsel  of  food  was  thrown  into  his  bowl."^ 

Buddhism  a  Development  of  Hinduism.  —  But  it  is  not 
the  mendicant  who  has  so  largely  influenced  India.  Seek- 
ing a  refuge  from  the  ills  of  life  and  the  perplexing  prob- 
lems of  thought  in  Hindu  philosophy  and  in  its  prescribed 
penances  and  mortifications,  Buddha  at  last  realized  their 
emptiness  and  reached  his  great  discovery.  A  holy  and 
calm  life,  love  toward  all  living  creatures,  the  practice  of 
benevolence  —  these  are  the  essence  of  true  religion.  His 
leading  tenets  and  the  practices  of  the  new  Order  were, 
however,  based  on  Hinduism.  Thus  his  monastic  system 
was  developed  out  of  the  ascetic  life  of  earlier  mendicants; 
his  doctrine  of  Karma  —  the  residual  character  of  this  and 
previous  lives,  surviving  and  bearing  fruit  in  the  next  — 
is  a  modification  of  the  metempsychosis  of  the  Upanishads; 
his  Nirvana  grew  out  of  the  Hindu  idea  of  final  union 
with  the  Universal  Soul  as  set  forth  in  the  same  treatises ; 
and  even  Hindu  gods  were  not  left  out;  for  they,  as  well 
as  men,  were  progressing  toward  the  near  or  far  off  goal 
of  Nirvana. 

Buddhism's  Tenets.  —  Buddha's  prolonged  meditations 
resulted  in  the  formulation  of  "  The  Four  Great  Truths," 
which  are  as  follows:     Sentient  love  is  accompanied  by 

^  Dutt,  Ancient  India,  p.  100. 


SOME   HISTORICAL   FACTORS  47 

pain ;  there  is  a  cause  for  this  pain ;  there  is  a  destruction  for 
the  cause  of  this  pain;  there  is  a  way  or  path  that  leads  to 
the  destruction  of  the  cause  of  pain.  These  truths  are  called 
"  Law  of  the  Wheel,"  as  they  "  revolve  in  a  circle  which 
should  constantly  be  moving  before  the  minds  of  men." 
The  way  of  deliverance  is  expressed  in  the  "  Eight  Divis- 
ions," which  are  right  views,  right  aims,  right  words,  right 
behavior,  right  mode  of  livelihood,  right  exertion,  right 
mindedness,  right  meditation  and  tranquility.  There  are 
ten  fetters  to  be  broken  in  the  "  Four  Stages  of  the  Path," 
namely,  delusion  of  self,  doubt,  dependence  on  works,  bod- 
ily passions,  hatred  or  ill-feeling,  love  of  life  on  earth, 
desire  for  Hfe  in  heaven,  pride,  self- righteousness,  and 
ignorance.' 

The  Ten  Commandments.  —  For  practical  guidance  in 
the  realm  of  conduct  Buddha  gave  his  followers  ten  com- 
mandments. The  first  five,  binding  on  laity  and  priest- 
hood alike,  are:  Not  to  kill,  not  to  steal,  not  to  commit 
adultery,  not  to  lie,  not  to  be  drunken.  The  remaining  five 
apply  to  those  who  are  in  pursuit  of  Nirvana  and  who 
have  entered  on  the  religious  life.  They  are:  Absten- 
tion from  food  out  of  season,  that  is,  after  mid-day;  absten- 
tion from  dances,  theatrical  representations,  songs  and 
music ;  abstention  from  personal  ornaments  and  perfumes ; 
abstention  from  a  lofty  and  luxurious  couch;  and  absten- 
tion from  taking  gold  and  silver. 

Secret  of  Buddhism's  Success.  —  Buddhism  was  a  pro- 
test against  the  tyranny  of  Brahmanism  and  caste,  and  the 
cause  of  its  success  is  thus  stated  by  Sir  William  Hun- 
ter: "The  secret  of  Buddha's  success  was  that  he 
brought  spiritual  deliverance  to  the  people.  He  preached 
that  salvation  was  equally  open  to  all  men,  and  that  it  must 
'be  earned,  not  by  propitiating  imaginary  deities,  but  by 
our  own  conduct.  His  doctrines  thus  cut  away  the  reli- 
gious basis  of  caste,  impaired  the  efficiency  of  the  sacri- 

^  Davids,  Buddhism,  pp.   io8-iio. 


48  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

ficial  ritual,  and  assailed  the  supremacy  of  the  Brahmans 
as  the  mediators  between  God  and  man.  Buddha  taught 
that  sin,  sorrow,  and  deliverance,  the  state  of  a  man  in  this 
life,  in  all  previous  and  in  all  future  lives,  are  the  inevit- 
able results  of  his  own  acts  (Karma).  He  thus  applied 
the  inexorable  law  of  cause  and  effect  to  the  soul.  What 
a  man  sows,  he  must  reap.  By  this  great  law  of  Karma, 
Buddha  explained  the  inequalities  and  apparent  injustice 
of  man's  estate  in  this  world  as  the  consequence  of  acts 
in  the  past;  while  Christianity  compensates  those  inequali- 
ties by  rewards  in  the  future.  A  system  in  which  our 
whole  well-being,  past,  present,  and  to  come,  depends  on 
ourselves,  theoretically  leaves  little  room  for  the  interfer- 
ence or  even  existence,  of  a  personal  God.  But  the 
atheism  of  Buddha  was  a  philosophical  tenet,  which,  so  far 
from  weakening  the  sanctions  of  right  and  wrong,  gave 
them  new  strength  from  the  doctrine  of  Karma,  or  the 
metempsychosis  of  character."^ 

V.  Period  of  Buddhistic  Ascendency  320  b.  C.-400  a.  d. 

Before  the  former  period  had  closed  Buddhism  had 
spread  quite  widely  over  India.  During  the  one  under 
consideration  it  reached  its  ascendency.  While  the  old 
faith  still  existed  in  strength  Buddhism  was  the  dominant 
power,  and  India  received  from  it  important  contributions. 

I.  External  History  —  Greek  Invasions.  —  In  327  b.  c. 
Alexander  the  Great  invaded  Northwestern  India,  enter- 
ing the  modern  Punjab  and  Sind.  During  his  two  years' 
campaign  he  subjugated  no  provinces,  but  he  made  alli- 
ances, founded  cities,  planted  garrisons,  and  introduced  a 
Greek  factor  into  the  native  courts.  His  successors  in 
India  who  came  from  Bactria  —  Northern  Afghanistan  — 
formed  alliances  with  native  potentates  and  penetrated 
eastward  to  the  center  of  the  country. 

*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  pp.  186,  187. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  49 

Greek  and  Bactrian  Influences.  —  The  influence  of  these 
incursions  is  thus  summarized  by  Bishop  Hurst :  "  These 
conquests  never  assumed  the  form  of  a  regular  govern- 
ment. The  invasions  were  not  followed  by  direct  and  per- 
manent results  in  the  form  of  laws  and  dynasties.  The 
Indian,  on  his  own  soil,  was  always  too  strong  for  the 
Greek  away  from  home.  In  an  indirect  way  there  remained 
traces  of  Greek  culture.  The  Greeks  bequeathed  to  India 
a  higher  knowledge  of  astronomy  than  it  ever  had  pos- 
sessed. The  architectural  remains  of  Buddhist  temples 
built  before  the  Christian  era  show  the  influence  of  the 
Greek  builder,  while  the  sculptures  of  the  Indian  artists 
which  have  survived  to  this  day  prove  the  refined  taste  of 
the  Greek.  Constant  additions  are  made  in  the  Punjab 
to  the  archaeological  treasures  emanating  from  this  period 
of  Greek  influence.  The  Bactro-Greek  coins  in  use  in 
India  were  numerous,  and  are  still  coming  to  the  light."^ 

Scythian  Invaders.  —  Following  Alexander  and  his  suc- 
cessors came  another  company  of  invaders  who  drove  out 
their  earlier  Grseco-Bactrian  forerunners  and  continued 
to  be  a  powerful  factor  in  India  until  the  beginning  of  the 
next  period.  The  Scythians,  who  were  shepherds  and 
herdsmen  and  whose  talent  was  for  war,  exercised  a  larger 
influence  on  the  land.  Coming  from  central  Asia,  they 
soon  spread  over  northern  India.  The  coins  of  various 
kings  and  dynasties  suggest  their  power,  while  the  influ- 
ence of  King  Kanishka  gave  to  northern  Asia,  as  we  shall 
see,  its  peculiar  form  of  Buddhism.  Two  of  the  best  sys- 
tems of  Indian  chronology  derive  their  era  from  native 
kings  who  fought  successfully  against  the  Scythians.  One 
is  the  Samvat,  corresponding  to  57  b.  c.  ;  the  other  is  the 
Saka,  "Scythian,"  corresponding  to  78  a.  d.  These  strug- 
gles lasted  for  centuries  before  the  Scythian  was  subdued. 
While  the  statement  that  Buddha  was  a  Sc)^thian  is 
untrustworthy,  it  is  certain  that  the  coming  of  these  peo- 

*  Hurst,  Indika,  p,  44. 


50  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

pie  to  India  has  exerted  on  his  faith  a  deeper  influence 
than  any  event  since  his  death. 

2,  (a)  Prominent  Rulers  —  Chandra  Gupta.  —  Against 
the  Greek  invaders  arose  Chandra  Gupta,  "  the  moon-pro- 
tected," a  low-caste  adventurer,  who  became  the  first  king 
of  India  —  316-292  b.  c.  He  was  known  to  the  West  as 
Sandracottus.  Though  not  a  Buddhist,  he  founded  the 
Kingdom  of  Magadha  which,  under  his  grandson,  was  to 
become  the  stronghold  of  the  new  faith.  So  powerful  was 
he  that  Seleukos,  Alexander's  successor  and  the  founder 
of  the  Syrian  monarchy,  gave  him  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage. It  is  the  India  of  his  time  that  the  Greek  Megas- 
thenes  so  graphically  portrayed.  Indeed,  until  within  a 
little  more  than  a  century,  the  Occident  had  no  better 
account  of  early  India  than  his.  Mandeville's  travels  are 
illustrations  of  the  usual  type  of  writings. 

Indian  Society  joo  B.  C.  —  The  following  is  his  descrip- 
tion of  Indian  society  tinder  this  enlightened  monarch. 
"  The  Greek  ambassador  observed  with  admiration  the 
absence  of  slavery  in  India,  the  chastity  of  the  women,  and 
the  courage  of  the  men.  In  valor  they  excelled  all  other 
Asiatics;  they  required  no  locks  to  their  doors;  above  all, 
no  Indian  was  ever  known  to  tell  a  lie.  Sober  and  indus- 
trious, good  farmers  and  skillful  artisans,  they  scarcely 
ever  had  recourse  to  a  lawsuit  and  lived  peaceably  under 
their  native  chiefs.  The  kingly  government  is  portrayed 
almost  as  described  in  Manu,  with  its  hereditary  castes  of 
counselors  and  soldiers.  Megasthenes  mentions  that  India 
was  divided  into  118  kingdoms,  some  of  which,  such  as 
that  of  the  Prasii  under  Chandra  Gupta,  exercised  suzerain 
powers.  The  village  system  is  well  described,  each  little 
rural  unit  seeming  to  the  Greek  an  independent  republic. 
Megasthenes  remarked  the  exemption  of  the  husbandmen 
(Vaisyas)  from  war  and  public  services;  and  enumerates 
the  dyes,  fibres,  fabrics,  and  products  —  animal,  vegetable 
and  mineral  —  of  India.    Husbandry  depended  on  the  peri- 


SOMfi  ttlStORlCAL  FACTORS  5  t 

odical  rains;  and  forecasts  of  the  weather,  with  a  view  to 
'  make  adequate  provision  against  a  coming  deficiency.' 
formed  a  special  duty  of  the  Brahmans.  But  mark  the 
judicious  proviso,  '  The  philosopher  who  errs  in  his  pre- 
dictions observes  silence  for  the  rest  of  his  life/  '" 

(b)  Asoka  or  Piyadasi.  —  Asoka,  king  of  Magadha 
264-222  B.  c,  Chandra  Gupta's  grandson,  became  a  con- 
vert to  Buddhism  about  257  b.  c.  No  king  in  their  annals 
is  more  illustrious  than  this  Buddhist  Constantine.  "  His 
name  is  honored  wherever  the  teachings  of  the  Buddha 
have  spread,  and  is  reverenced  from  the  Volga  to  Japan, 
from  Ceylon  and  Siam  to  the  borders  of  Mongolia  and 
Siberia.  '  If  a  man's  fame,'  says  Koppen,  'can  be  meas- 
ured by  the  number  of  hearts  who  revere  his  memory,  by 
the  number  of  lips  who  have  mentioned  and  still  mention 
him  with  honor,  Asoka  is  more  famous  than  Charlemagne 
or  Caesar,'  "* 

His  Edicts.  —  The  emphasis  placed  upon  religion  and 
the  propagation  of  Buddhism  is  plainly  seen  in  the  four- 
teen rock-cut  edicts  still  existing  in  different  parts  of 
Northern  India.  The  gist  of  Edicts  4-13  is  as  follows: 
"  He  made  an  announcement  of  religious  grace ;  appointed 
ministers  of  religion  and  missionaries;  appointed  moral 
instructors  to  take  cognizance  of  the  conduct  of  the  people ; 
proclaimed  universal  religious  toleration;  recommended 
pious  enjoyments  in  preference  to  sensual  amusements; 
expatiated  on  the  merits  of  imparting  religious  instruction 
and  moral  advice ;  extolled  true  heroism  and  glory  found 
in  spreading  true  religion;  declared  the  imparting  of  reli- 
gious instruction  as  the  best  of  all  kinds  of  charity;  pro- 
claimed his  desire  to  convert  all  unbelievers  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  universal  toleration  and  moral  persuasion;  men- 
tioned the  conquest  of  Kalinga  and  the  names  of  five 
Greek  kings,  his  contemporaries,  to  whose  kingdoms  as 

1  Hunter,   Indian   Empire,    p.    217. 
'Davids,    Buddhism,    pp.    221,    222. 


5^  INDIA    AND    CIIUISTIAN    OPPORTUNITV 

well  as  to  various  parts  of  India  he  had  sent  Buddhist  mis- 
sionaries."^ The  Greek  kings  referred  to  were  Antiochus 
of  Syria,  Ptolemy  of  Egypt,  Antigonus  of  Macedon,  Magus 
of  Cyrene,  and  Alexander  of  Epirus.  Other  edicts  in- 
scribed in  Delhi,  Allahabad  and  elsewhere  still  further 
prove  his  interest  in  elevating  society  and  the  moral  life; 
yet  his  very  liberality  toward  the  new  faith  and  its  minis- 
ters was  the  beginning  of  its  decay.     ' 

(c)  Kanishka.  —  Chandra  Gupta's  dynasty  ended  about 
forty  years  after  Asoka's  death ;  and  from  the  South  came 
India's  great  rulers  for  more  than  four  centuries,  26-430 
A.  D.  In  the  first  Christian  century,  however,  when  St. 
Paul  was  beginning  his  missionary  labors,  a  conqueror  of 
the  Scythian  line  ruled  in  Central  Asia  and  Northwestern 
India,  having  his  capital  in  Kashmir.  This  King 
Kanishka,  referred  to  on  a  previous  page,  extended  his 
rule  as  far  eastward  as  Agra,  and  to  the  north  and  north- 
west; so  that  his  empire  was  unequaled  in  extent  from  the 
time  of  Asoka  to  that  of  the  Moguls.  His  service  to  India 
lies  in  the  council  convened  by  him  and  described  below. 

3.  Councils  —  First  Tzvo. —  Four  important  councils  in 
the  history  of  Buddhism  should  be  noted.  The  first  two, 
if  tradition  may  be  trusted,  occurred  in  the  previous  period, 
one  in  the  year  of  Buddha's  death,  and  the  other  a  cen- 
tury later.  The  former  brought  together  500  monks  who 
together  chanted^  the  teachings  of  their  master  in  order 
to  fix  them  in  memory.  They  thus  gave  authority  to  the 
early  Buddhistic  doctrines.  These  teachings  later  em- 
bodied in  the  Tripitaka,  "  Three  Baskets,"  are  the  South- 
ern Buddhist's  Scriptures.  They  are  entitled  Sutta  Pitaka, 
Vinaya  Pitaka,  and  Abhidhamma  Pitaka,  and  contain 
respectively  the  sayings  and  doings  of  Buddha  himself, 
the  rules  of  the  monastic  life  affecting  monks  and  nuns, 
and  disquisitions  on  various  subjects,  doctrinal  and  philo- 

*  Dutt,  Ancient  India,  p.   ii6. 

*  The   Buddhist   name    for  council    means   singing  together. 


Some  historical  factors  53 

sophical.  These  were  doubtless  added  to  and  changed 
long  after  the  council.  A  division  arising  among  the 
monks,  the  liberal  party,  who  desired  to  gain  authority  for 
the  Ten  Indulgences,  were  defeated  by  the  more  orthodox. 
The  second  council  of  700  members  reasserted  the  faith, 
but  their  decisions  were  not  universally  acknowledged  and 
the  seceders  left  the  main  body,  never  again  to  be  reunited 
to  them. 

Asoka's  Council.  —  In  order  to  counteract  the  teachings 
of  heretical  leaders  Asoka  called  a  council  of  1,000  monks, 
which  convened  possibly  in  244  b.  c.  It  fixed  the  faith  of 
Southern  Buddhism  practically  as  it  is  to-day.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  the  king  determined  on  the  edicts  already 
referred  to,  and  they  were  accordingly  cut  in  stone 
throughout  his  realm. 

Council  of  Kanishka.  —  It  remained  for  King  Kanishka 
and  the  fourth  council  to  complete  in  the  first  Christian 
century  the  Northern  Canon.  Sixty-five  hundred  monks 
compiled  three  commentaries,  one  of  100,000  couplets  on 
each  of  the  Pitakas.  These  Sanskrit  commentaries  con- 
stitute the  Greater  Vehicle  of  Northern  Asia,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  shorter  or  Lesser  Vehicle  in  Pali  of  the 
Buddhists  of  Ceylon,  Burma  and  Si  am.  While  the  North- 
ern Canon  contains  later  corruptions  and  developments  of 
the  Indian  faith,  it  is  far  more  hopeful  in  its  character 
than  the  atheistic  Southern  Canon. 

4.  Buddhist  Missions.  —  Buddhism  during  this  period 
was  remarkable  for  its  missionary  activity.  Asoka  gave  the 
first  strong  impulse  in  this  direction.  "  In  the  year  of  the 
council,  he  founded  a  State  Department  to  watch  over  the 
purity,  and  to  direct  the  spread,  of  the  faith.  A  Minister 
of  Justice  and  Religion  directed  its  operations;  and,  as 
one  of  its  first  duties  was  to  proselytize,  this  Minister  was 
charged  with  the  welfare  of  the  aborigines  among  whom 
his  missionaries  were  sent.  Asoka  did  not  think  it  enough 
to  convert  the  inferior  races,  without  looking  after  their 


54  INDIA  And  christian  opfORtuNitV  ^ 

material  interests.  Wells  were  to  be  dug  and  trees  planted 
along  the  roads;  a  system  of  medical  aid  for  man  and 
beast  was  established  throughout  his  kingdom  and  the  con- 
quered provinces,  as  far  as  Ceylon.  Officers  were 
appointed  to  watch  over  domestic  life  and  public  morality 
and  to  promote  instruction  among  the  women  as  well  as 
the  youth.  Asoka  recognized  proselytism  by  peaceful 
means  as  a  state  duty.  The  Rock  Inscriptions  record  how 
he  sent  forth  missionaries  *  to  the  utmost  limits  of  the  bar- 
barian countries,'  to  '  intermingle  among  all  unbelievers  ' 
for  the  spread  of  religion.  They  shall  mix  equally  with 
soldiers,  Brahmans,  and  beggars,  with  the  dreaded  and  the 
despised,  both  within  the  kingdom  '  and  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, teaching  better  things.'  Conversion  is  to  be  effected 
by  persuasion,  not  by  the  sword.  Buddhism  was  at  once 
the  most  intensely  missionary  religion  in  the  world  and 
the  most  tolerant.  This  character  of  a  proselytizing  faith, 
which  wins  its  victories  by  peaceful  means,  so  strongly 
impressed  upon  it  by  Asoka,  has  remained  a  prominent 
feature  of  Buddhism  to  the  present  day."^  It  may  be 
added  that  the  object-lesson,  afforded  by  the  going  to  Cey- 
lon as  missionaries  of  King  Asoka's  own  son  and  daugh- 
ter, proved  an  important  factor  in  the  early  propaganda. 

5.  The  Jains.  —  A  religion  allied  to  Buddhism  and  Hin- 
duism, but  especially  to  the  former,  is  that  of  the  Jains. 
An  unsettled  controversy  concerning  its  origin  and  age 
prevents  any  dogmatic  statement;  yet,  either  parallel  with 
Buddhism's  rise  and  independent  of  it,  or  as  an  offshoot 
from  it,  this  body  of  religionists  came  into  existence.  With 
the  Buddhists,  they  denied  the  divine  authority  of  the 
Vedas  and  opposed  the  destruction  of  animal  life,  so  com- 
mon among  Brahmans;  while,  with  the  Brahmans,  they 
favored  caste,  performed  their  essential  ceremonies,  and 
even  recognized  subordinate  Hindu  deities.  Their  earlier 
books  may  date  from  the  period  under  consideration. 

^  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  pp.  190,  191. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  55 

6.  Buddhist  Civilisation.  —  Less  important  than  the 
new  religion,  and  yet  part  of  its  fruitage,  are  the  elements 
of  its  civilization  which  are  so  prominent  during  the  Bud- 
dhistic age.  The  demands  of  the  Buddhist  society  gave 
rise  to  great  structures  in  stone;  and  hence  architecture 
was  developed,  reaching  its  acme  about  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era.  Both  monasteries  and  churches,  how- 
ever, were,  for  the  most  part,  excavated  out  of  living 
rock.  It  is  probably  true  that  sculpture  and  painting,  as 
well  as  architecture,  were  superior  at  that  time,  for  the 
reason  that  after  the  decay  of  Buddhism  and  the  new 
emphasis  of  caste,  these  arts  fell  under  the  spell  of  the 
caste  system  which  relegated  such  employments  to  the 
laboring  classes,  who  lacked  the  brain  for  superior  work. 
Medicine  reached  its  zenith  under  the  Buddhists,  and 
because  of  the  impetus  given  the  study  by  the  Greeks, 
eighteen  Hindu  astronomical  works  were  written.  It  was 
now  also  that  the  Laws  of  Manu  were  recast  in  verse 
and  modified  to  meet  the  views  of  the  age.  The  two 
longest  books  of  Manu's  Institutes  are  still  regarded  as 
important,  and  portions  of  them  are  authoritative  in  mod- 
ern Indian  courts.  Among  minor  sins  mentioned  by  Manu 
are  those  of  "  superintending  mines  and  factories,  and 
executing  great  mechanical  works." 

VI.    The  Puranic  Period  —  500-1000  a.  d. 

I.  Preview.  —  During  these  centuries  Buddhism  grad- 
ually lost  its  power  and  finally  ceased  to  be  an  important 
factor  in  India's  life,  its  place  being  taken  by  a  new  form 
of  Hinduism  which  is  largely  the  forerunner  of  the  popu- 
lar religion  of  to-day.  Already,  however,  Buddhism  had 
sounded  forth  its  message  from  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
terranean to  the  Yellow  Sea  and  had  won  millions  of 
adherents,  from  the  Central  Asiatic  roof  of  the  world  to 
the  Malay  Archipelago.    Ceylon,  Burma,  Siam,  Java,  and 


56  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   orPURTUNlTY 

adjacent  islands,  Tibet  and  the  regions  to  its  north  and 
northwest,  and  the  vast  empire  of  China,  were  hence- 
forth the  patrons  of  that  faith,  which  had  been  rejected 
and  driven  from  its  home  by  Buddha's  own  countrymen. 
These  centuries,  moreover,  were  the  Augustan  Age  of 
Hindu  Hterature,  resplendent  with  a  glory  all  the  more 
striking  because  of  the  two  centuries  of  darkness  with 
which  the  period  closed. 

2.  Buddhism's  Passing.  —  A  Chinese  Buddhist,  Hsiian 
Tsang,  who  returned  from  India  in  the  year  645  with  657 
books,  many  pictures  and  images,  and  150  relics'  is  our 
most  reliable  source  of  information  concerning  Buddhism 
at  that  day.  Indeed,  Bishop  Bigandet,  in  his  Life  of 
Gaudama,  says  of  him  and  Fa  Hsien,  an  earlier  pilgrim: 
"  The  voyages  of  two  Chinese  travelers,  undertaken  in 
the  fifth  and  seventh  centuries  of  our  era,  have  done  more 
to  elucidate  the  history  and  geography  of  India  than  all 
that  has  hitherto  been  found  in  the  Sanskrit  and  Pali 
Books  of  that  and  the  neighboring  countries.'"  Though 
the  famous  Buddhist  centers  of  Magadha  were  in  decay  or 
declining,  in  Behar,  Nalanda  and  its  university  arose  to  be 
for  moribund  Buddhism  what  Cluny  and  Clairvaux  were 
to  France  in  the  Middle  Ages.  "  Ten  thousand  monks 
and  novices  of  the  Eighteen  Schools  there  studied 
theology,  philosophy,  law,  science  —  especially  medicine  — 
and  practiced  their  devotions.'"  While  on  its  scholastic 
side  Nalanda  show^ed  no  signs  of  decline,  popular  Bud- 
dhism came  to  be  mainly  a  matter  of  pilgrimages,  cere- 
monial, and  image  worship.  For  centuries  Hinduism  had 
taken  on  more  and  more  of  its  rival's  popular  features  and 
hence  ministered  to  the  need  which  originally  called  the 
latter  into  existence.  Moreover,  Buddhism  grew  increas- 
ingly corrupt,  until  finally  cruel  persecutions  and  oppres- 

*  Giles,  Chinese  Biographical  Dictionary,  No.  8oi. 
» Beal,   Chinese  Buddhism,  p.    18. 

•  Encyclopaedia  Britannico,  vol.  xii.,  p.  786,  9tb  edition. 


Some  historical  factors  57 

sion,  instigated  by  learned  Brahmans,  led  to  its  extermi- 
nation. In  the  twelfth  century  scarcely  a  Buddhist  re- 
mained in  India  proper. 

Buddhism's  Legacy.  —  Though  defunct  in  the  land  of 
its  birth,  Buddhism  has  left  visible  traces  of  its  original 
power,  aside  from  its  living  presence  in  Burma  to-day. 
The  principle  of  human  brotherhood,  the  asylum  which  the 
great  Vaishnav  sect  affords  to  female  victims  of  caste 
rules,  to  widows  and  outcasts,  gentleness  and  charity  to 
all  men,  and  those  elements  of  Gautama's  teachings  which 
are  crystallized  in  the  "  mild  "  Hindu  of  to-day,  are  sur- 
vivals which  for  more  than  two  milleniums  have  made 
India  a  better  country. 

3.  India's  Augustan  Age.  —  One  of  a  reigning  family, 
Vikramaditya  the  Great,  a  Brahmanist,  who  may  have 
ruled  in  the  sixth  century,  so  encouraged  literature  that  his 
reign  saw  the  renaissance  of  Sanskrit  and  the  beginning 
of  that  of  Hinduism  as  well.  Nearly  all  of  the  great 
works  popular  among  Hindus  to-day  date  from  the  period 
then  begun.  Among  the  luminaries  of  this  time  are 
India's  Shakespeare,  Kalidasa,  whose  Sakuiitala  Goethe 
so  greatly  admired ;  Amara  Sinha,  the  lexicographer ; 
Aryabhata,  the  founder  of  modern  Hindu  astronomy;  and 
Bhavabhuti,  the  last  of  the  great  poets  and  literary  men 
of  ancient  India.  Of  the  strictly  belles  lettres  section  of 
the  literature  produced,  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  is  dis- 
appointingly sensuous  in  character  and  without  high 
ideals.  Its  best  elements  are  borrowings  from  the  early 
Epics.  Contributions  to  the  religious  literature  during 
these  centuries  are  mentioned  in  paragraph  5  below. 

4.  Hinduism  Composite.  —  The  striking  characteristic 
of  this  period  is  found  in  the  rise  of  a  system  which  devel- 
oped during  subsequent  centuries  into  modern  Hinduism. 
It  is  a  composite  product.  ''  The  preamble  of  Hinduism  '* 
derived  from  the  Vedas,  Upanishads,  and  philosophical 
works  founded  on  them,  is  "  that  the  one  sole,  self-exist- 


58  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

ing  Supreme  Self,  the  only  really  existing  Essence,  the  one 
eternal  Germ  of  all  things,  delights  in  infinite  expansion, 
in  infinite  manifestations  of  itself,  in  infinite  creation,  dis- 
solution, and  re-creation,  through  infinite  varieties  and 
diversities  of  operation.  .  .  .  The  very  name  '  Brahman" 
given  to  the  Eternal  Essence,  is  expressive  of  this  growth, 
this  expansion,  this  universal  development  and  diffusion. 
.  o  .  It  is  only,  however,  by  the  practice  of  a  kind  of 
universal  toleration  and  receptivity  —  carried  on  through 
more  than  two  thousand  years  —  that  Hinduism  has 
arrived  at  its  present  condition.  It  has  first  borne  with 
and  then  accepted,  and  so  to  speak,  digested  and  assimi- 
lated something  from  all  creeds.  It  has  opened  its  doors 
to  all  comers  on  the  two  conditions  of  admitting  the  spir- 
itual supremacy  of  the  Brahmans,  and  conforming  to  cer- 
tain caste-rules  about  food,  intermarriage,  and  professional 
pursuits.  In  this  manner  it  has  adopted  much  of  the  fe- 
tishism of  the  Negrito  aborigines  of  India;  it  has  stooped 
to  the  practices  of  various  hill  tribes,  and  has  not  scrupled 
to  encourage  the  adoration  of  the  fish,  the  boar,  the  ser- 
pent, rocks,  stones,  and  trees;  it  has  borrowed  ideas  from 
th'j  various  cults  of  the  Dravidian  races ;  and  it  may  even 
owe  something  to  Christianity.  Above  all,  it  has  appro- 
priated nearly  every  doctrine  of  Buddhism,  except  its 
atheism,  its  denial  of  the  eternity  of  soul,  and  its  leveling 
of  caste  distinctions."" 

5.  (a)  Religious  Literature  —  Puranas.  —  The  litera- 
ture which  inculcates  this  new  form  of  religion  and  which 
suggests  the  Hindu  characterization  of  the  period,  the  "  Pu- 
ranic  Age,"  is  embodied  in  the  Puranas,  "  Ancient  Lore." 
They  were  apparently  preceded  and  followed  by  other  com- 
positions bearing  this  name,  but  the  eighteen  chief  Puranas 
seem  to  have  been  the  product  of  this  period  and  the  cen- 
turies immediately  following.    **  Besides  cosmogony   they 

^  Neuter  from  root  hrih,  "  to  grow." 
*  Monier-Williams,  Hinduism,  pp.  86,  85, 


SO:^IE  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  59 

deal  with  mythical  descriptions  of  the  earth,  the  doctrine 
of  the  cosmic  ages,  the  exploits  of  ancient  gods,  saints,  and 
heroes,  accounts  of  the  Avatars  of  Vishnii,  the  genealogies 
of  the  Solar  and  Lunar  race  of  kings,  and  enumerations  of 
the  thousand  names  of  Vishnu  or  of  Siva.  They  also  con- 
tain rules  about  the  worship  of  the  gods  by  means  of  pray- 
ers, fastings,  votive  offerings,  festivals,  and  pilgrimages."* 
The  perusal  of  even  a  few  extracts  proves  the  appropriate- 
ness of  Professor  Hopkins's  statement :  "  In  the  Puranas, 
while  the  trinity  is  acknowledged,  religion  is  resolved 
again  into  a  sort  of  sectarian  monotheism,  where  the 
devotee  seems  to  be  in  the  midst  of  the  squabbling  horde 
of  temple  priests,  each  fighting  for  his  own  idol.  In  the 
calmer  aspects  of  religion,  apart  from  sectarian  schism, 
these  writings  offer,  indeed,  much  that  is  of  second  rate 
interest,  but  little  that  is  of  real  value.""  And  yet  material 
of  this  sort  is  regarded  of  such  importance  that  the 
Puranas  run  interminably  on  to  the  alleged  extent  of 
1,600,000  lines!' 

(b)  The  Tantras.  —  The  Tantras,  the  Bible  of  Sak- 
tism,  said  to  be  sixty- four  in  number,  probably  took  their 
form  in  this  period  also;  though  part  of  them  are  of  later 
origin  and  all  may  have  been  greatly  modified  subse- 
quently. They  have  been  the  foulest  element  in  Hinduism 
for  a  thousand  years,  and  to-day,  according  to  Sir  Monier- 
Williams,  "  a  vast  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  India, 
especially  in  Bengal,  are  guided  in  their  daily  life  and 
practices  by  Tantric  teaching  and  are  in  bondage  to  the 
doctrines  inculcated  in  these  writings."*  How  silly  and 
obscene  their  teaching  is  may  be  faintly  imagined  from 
the  section  devoted  to  Saktism  in  a  later  chapter. 

(c)  Sankara     and     Vedantism.  —  In     striking     con- 

*  'Macdonnell,  History  of  Sanskrit  Literature,  p.    300. 
-  Hopkins,  Religions  of  India,  pp.  439,  440. 

'  Wilson,  Preface  to   Vishnu  Purana,   p.  xxiv. 

*  Monier-Williams,   Brahmanistn   and   Hinduism,   p.    18^. 


60  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

trast  to  the  corrupt  phases  of  Hinduism  set  forth  in  the 
Puranas  and  Tantras  are  the  teachings  of  India's  St. 
Augustine,  Sankara  Acharya,  who  traversed  the  land,  con- 
troverting heresies  and  proclaiming  his  religious  views. 
While  some  regard  him  as  having  lived  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  it  is  most  probable  that  he  did  his  work  in  our 
eighth  or  ninth  century.  In  his  commentaries  on  the 
Vedanta  Sutras,  the  Bhagavad  Git  a  and  the  principal 
Upanishads,  he  laid  the  foundations  of  present-day 
Vedantism  described  later.  Dying,  some  say  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-two,  he  left  behind  him  four  important  mon- 
asteries where  his  doctrines  were  promulgated.  "  Un- 
doubtedly Sankara  was  the  very  incarnation  of  strict 
Brahmanism ;  and  if  it  be  possible  to  name  any  one  real 
historical  concrete  personality  as  a  typical  representative 
of  Brahmanical  doctrines,  it  is  undeniable  that  we  must 
point  to  Sankara  rather  than  to  the  legendary  Vyasa,  even 
though  the  latter  be  the  alleged  author  of  the  Vedanta 
Sutra.  Yet  so  utterly  barren  is  India  in  both  history  and 
biography,  that  very  little  is  known  of  the  life  of  perhaps 
one  of  the  greatest  religious  leaders  she  has  ever  pro- 
duced."' 

6.  Residtant  Life  of  the  Period.  —  Sir  Richard  Temple 
admirably  summarizes  the  life  of  these  centuries  of  reli- 
gious transition.  "  It  produced  many  splendid  fanes,  the 
ruins  of  which  delight  the  modern  observer.  It  was  char- 
acterized by  a  fantastic  mythology  and  a  somewhat  sen- 
suous idolatry.  It  produced,  in  addition  to  the  old  code 
of  Manu,  a  further  set  of  regulations  tinder  the  name  of 
Yajnavalkya.  Minute  ceremonial  observance,  varying  for 
every  class,  cramped  the  soul.  Thus  the  spirit  of  the 
people  was  enslaved,  their  sentiments  were  cramped,  and 
their  thoughts  awestruck.  Their  mind  was  turned  to 
superstitious  requirements  rather  than  to  the  practical 
questions  of  public  life.     Their  society  was  further  en- 

^  Monier-Williams,  Brahmanism  and  Hinduism,  p.   55. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  6l 

feebled  by  the  subjection  of  women.  Maternal  and  con- 
jugal influence  must  have  existed,  but  in  an  irresponsible 
way.  Each  one  of  the  countless  sections  of  the  commu- 
nity, each  tribe  or  class,  each  cousinhood  descending  from 
a  common  ancestor,  within  its  narrow  circle  became 
tenacious  of  its  own  traditions,  guarding  them  against  all 
the  world,  and  caring  little  for  anything  extraneous. 
Hence  arose  the  system  of  village  communities,  which  was 
consolidated  and  hardened  by  the  recurring  troubles  of 
the  time.  Each  community  was  a  brotherhood  within  its 
village  only,  with  cohesion  like  that  of  a  square  of  infan- 
try. This  institution  saved  Hindu  society  during  the  con- 
vulsions of  the  eleventh  and  succeeding  centuries.  But  a 
society  thus  constituted  was  manifestly  a  ready  prey  for 
northern  invaders.  During  the  latter  part  of  this  era 
there  were  apparently  some  internal  revolutions  among 
the  Hindus  themselves.'" 

VH.     Period  of  Mohammedan  Rule,  1001-1761  a.  d. 

From  the  time  of  Mahmud  of  Ghazni's  invasion  in  looi 
and  even  before  that  date  Indian  annals  become  definite, 
and  the  accuracy  of  modern  history  takes  the  place  of  the 
guesses  and  the  conflicting  chronology  that  color  its  early 
annals. 

I.  Character  of  Mohammedan  Conquests.  —  A  com- 
mon misconception  of  the  character  of  the  Mohammedan 
domination  in  India  is  removed  by  Sir  William  Hunter's 
words :  "  The  popular  notion  that  India  fell  an  easy  prey 
to  the  Musalmans  is  opposed  to  the  historical  facts. 
Mohammedan  rule  in  India  consists  of  a  series  of  inva- 
sions and  partial  conquests,  during  eight  centuries,  from 
Subuktigin's  inroad  in  977,  to  Ahmad  Shah's  tempest  of 
invasion  in  1761  a.  d.  These  invasions  represent  in  In- 
dian history  the  overflow  of  the  nomad  tribes  of  Central 
^Chambers's  Encyclopaedia,  vol.  vi.,  p.   117. 


62  INDIA    AXD    CHRISTIAN    OrFORTUNlTY 

Asia,  towards  tlic  southeast ;  as  the  Huns,  Turks,  the  vari- 
ous Tartar  tribes  disclose  in  early  European  annals  the 
westward  movements  from  the  same  great  breeding-ground 
of  nations.  At  no  time  was  Islam  triumphant  throughout 
the  whole  of  India.  Hindu  dynasties  always  ruled  over 
large  areas.  At  the  height  of  the  Mohammedan  power, 
the  Hindu  princes  paid  tribute,  and  sent  agents  to  the 
Imperial  court.  But  even  this  modified  supremacy  of 
Delhi  did  not  last  for  150  years  (1560-1707).  Before  the 
end  of  that  brief  period,  the  Hindus  had  begun  the  work 
of  re-conquest.  The  Hindu  chivalry  of  Raiputana  was 
closing  in  upon  Delhi  from  the  south ;  the  religious  con- 
federation of  the  Sikhs  was  growing  into  a  military  power 
on  the  nortliwest.  The  Maratlias  had  combined  the  fight- 
ing powers  of  tlie  low-castes  witli  the  statesmanship  of 
the  Brahmans.  and  were  subjecting  the  Mohanmiedaii 
kingdoms  throughout  all  India  to  tribute.*"^ 

2.  Moslem  Rulers.  —  The  rulers  of  these  seven  and  a 
half  centuries  were  of  different  nationalities.  Of  the  eight 
houses  or  dynasties,  four  were  Turki,  two  were  Afghan, 
one  was  Sayyid.  and  one  Mongol.  All  the  invaders  entered 
via  tlie  Northwest  Passes,  and  Delhi  was  the  commonest 
seat  of  power.  The  seven  earlier  dynasties  possessed  one 
common  characteristic,  namely,  a  fanatical  Mohammedan- 
ism which  caused  them  to  look  upon  Indian  races  as  infi- 
dels and  an  abomination. 

Tatfu-rhitu-  and  Bahrr.  —  Individual  mention  cannot  be 
made  of  the  many  potentates  who  reigned  during  this 
period.  The  most  famous  of  them  belonged  to  the  Mogul 
—  ^longol  —  house  of  Timur,  the  last  of  tlie  eight  dynas- 
ties. As  early  as  the  first  quarter  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, Genghis  Khan  had  brought  his  Mongol  hordes  into 
Northwestern  India  on  a  brief  foray.  In  1398-99  Timur, 
better  known  as  Tamerlane,  *'  Timur,  the  Lame,"  con- 
quered  the  territory   between  the   Indus   and  the   lower 

*  Hunter.  Ir.dusn  Emf^ire,  p.  3^3. 


SOME  HISTORICAL   FACTORS  63 

Ganges,  retiring  from  there  to  his  capital  Samarkand  with 
a  fabulous  amount  of  booty.  Though  he  had  proclaimed 
himself  emperor  at  Delhi,  the  title  lapsed  till  his  grandson 
Baber  revived  it  and  became  the  first  bearer  of  the  famous 
title,  the  Great  Mogul. 

Akbar  the  Great.  —  It  was  his  grandson,  Akbar  the 
Great,  who  in  1556  —  two  years  before  Queen  Elizabeth 
ascended  England's  throne  —  began  his  almost  half-cen- 
tury reign,  which  revealed  him  as  perhaps  the  greatest 
sovereign  India  ever  had,  as  well  as  the  greatest  Asiatic 
monarch  of  modern  times.  This  great  conqueror  and  civil 
administrator  of  the  Empire  died  in  1605,  two  years  later 
than  Queen  Elizabeth.  This  was  the  fifth  year  after  the 
British  East  India  Company  came  into  existence,  and  the 
fourth  from  the  day  when  the  first  English  ships  touched 
India's  shores.  The  architecture  of  his  noble  mausoleum 
near  Agra,  which  is  adorned  with  mingled  Buddhist  and 
Arabesque  designs,  testifies  to  the  Catholic  faith  of  one 
who  was  born  a  Mohammedan.  Lord  Tennyson's  poem, 
Akhar's  Dream,  reminds  one  of  Sir  William  Hunter's 
prose :  "Akbar's  conciliation  of  the  Hindus,  and  his  inter- 
est in  their  literature  and  religion,  made  him  many  enemies 
among  the  pious  Musalmans.  His  favorite  wife  was  a 
Rajput  princess;  another  of  his  wives  is  said  to  have  been 
a  Christian;  and  he  ordered  his  son.  Prince  Murad,  when 
a  child,  to  take  lessons  in  Christianity.  On  Fridays  — 
the  Sabbath  of  Islam  —  he  loved  to  collect  professors  of 
many  religions  around  him.  He  listened  impartially  to 
the  arguments  of  the  Brahman  and  the  Musalman,  the 
Parsee,  the  ancient  fire-worshiper,  the  Jew,  the  Jesuit,  and 
the  skeptic  philosopher.  The  history  of  his  life,  the 
Akbar-namah,  records  such  a  conference,  in  which  the 
Christian  priest  Redif  disputed  with  a  body  of  Moham- 
medan mullas  before  an  assembly  of  the  doctors  of  all 
religions  and  is  given  the  best  of  the  argument.'" 
*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  350. 


04  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

3.  MaratJia  Confederacy.  —  While  the  h\st  of  the 
Moguls  held  a  titular  position  as  late  as  1857,  and  though 
Mohammedans  to-day  constitute  more  than  one-fifth  of 
India's  population,  Islam's  temporal  power  fell  before  Hin- 
duism as  represented  by  the  Marathas,  who  flourished 
from  1634  to  1888.  They  constituted  a  low-caste  Hindu 
confederacy  directed  against  the  Mohammedan  domination 
and  had  as  their  head  a  hereditary  Brahman  chief,  whose 
capital  was  at  Poona  in  the  Deccan.  This  confederation 
was  the  principal  power  when  England  appeared  in  force 
upon  the  scene.  At  that  time  its  civilization  was  of  a 
lower  order  than  any  since  the  Vedic-Aryan  times,  and 
it  gave  rise  to  fresh  evils,  such  as  thuggee. 

4.  Influence  of  Mohammedan  Ride.  —  The  impress  made 
upon  India  by  its  Mohammedan  rulers  was  a  mingling  of 
good  and  evil.  Again  we  quote  Sir  Richard  Temple.  "  The 
Mohammedan  system  inculcated  simplicity  of  faith  and 
morals.  It  was  bitterly  opposed  to  idolatry  and  was  at 
first  iconoclastic,  but  in  the  end  it  extended  toleration  to 
Hinduism.  It  fairly  respected  the  landed  property  and 
endowments  of  that  religion.  It  introduced  some  fresh 
ideas,  and  imparted  some  breadth  of  ideas  generally,  and 
some  improved  notions  of  statesmanship  and  organization. 
Otherwise  it  produced  but  little  effect  upon  Hindu  civili- 
zation. It  imposed  its  own  official  language  and  its  own 
criminal  law,  but  it  maintained  civil  laws  and  customs  for 
the  most  part.  It  undertook  no  public  instruction,  save 
that  which  was  Moslem.  It  planted  Moslems  all  about  the 
country,  but  did  not  convert  the  indigenous  people  in  large 
numbers  anywhere  except  in  one  quarter.  That  exception 
was  eastern  Bengal,  where  the  inhabitants  embraced  the 
Moslem  faith,  but  how  this  came  about  is  a  question  not  set- 
tled. It  has  been  conjectured  that  Buddhism  survived  here 
without  caste,  and  that  the  inhabitants  were  not  unwilling 
to  adopt  Mohammedanism  as  a  casteless  faith.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  the  eastern  Bengal  population  has  multiplied  till 


SOME   HISTORICAL  FACTORS  65 

it  amounts  to  nearly  twenty-five  millions,  and  is  the  largest 
Mohammedan  people  now  existing  in  any  one  country. 
Finally,  the  Mohammedan  power  endured  so  long  as  it 
was  recruited  from  trans-Himalayan  regions  and  the  hardy 
North;  it  soon  lost  its  strength  when  its  supporters  came 
to  dwell  generation  after  generation  in  the  hot  country 
below  the  mountains.'" 

VIII.    Continental  European  Contact 

1.  The  Portuguese  Rule,  14^8  to  iStJi  Century.  —  The 
Portuguese  were  the  first  Europeans  to  enter  India  in  any 
considerable  number.  Though  Columbus  in  1492  desired 
to  reach  the  peninsula  in  Spanish  bottoms  by  a  new^  west- 
ward route,  he  found  a  better  land  than  India;  and  it  was 
reserved  for  the  Portuguese,  Vasco  da  Gama,  to  double 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  after  an  eleven  months'  voy- 
age, to  cast  anchor  off  the  city  of  Calicut,  on  May  20, 
1498.  For  exactly  a  century  —  from  1500  to  1600  —  the 
Portuguese  were  supreme  in  the  eastern  seas  and  estab- 
lished a  maritime  empire,  extending  from  Japan  and  the 
Spice  Islands  to  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
"  But  they  never  commanded  the  necessary  resources, 
either  of  military  strength  or  personal  character,  for  its 
maintenance  and  defence.  They  were  also  in  another  way 
unprepared  for  the  commerce  of  w^hich  they  thus  obtained 
the  control.  Their  national  character  had  been  formed 
in  their  secular  contests  w^ith  the  Moors,  and  above  all 
things  they  were  knights  errant  and  crusaders,  who  looked 
on  every  pagan  as  an  enemy  at  once  of  Portugal  and  of 
Christ.  It  is  impossible  for  any  one  who  has  not  read 
the  contemporary  narratives  of  their  discoveries  and  con- 
quests to  conceive  the  grossness  of  the  superstition  and 
the  cruelty  with  which  the  whole  history  of  their  explora- 
tion and  subjugation  of  the  Indies  is  stained.    Albuquerque 

^  Cha*nbers's  Encyclopaedia,  vol.  vi.,  p.  118. 


66  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

alone  endeavored  to  conciliate  the  good  will  of  the  natives 
and  to  live  in  friendship  v^^ith  the  Hindu  princes, who  were 
naturally  better  pleased  to  have  the  Portuguese,  as  gov- 
erned by  him,  for  their  neighbors  and  allies  than  the 
Mohammedans  whom  he  had  expelled  or  subdued.  The  jus- 
tice and  magnanimity  of  this  rule  did  as  much  to  extend 
and  confirm  the  power  of  the  Portuguese  in  the  East  as 
the  courage  and  success  of  his  military  achievements ;  and 
in  such  veneration  was  his  memory  held  by  the  Hindus, 
and  even  by  the  Mohammedans,  in  Goa  that  they  were 
accustomed  to  repair  to  his  tomb  and  there  utter  their  com- 
plaints, as  if  in  the  presence  of  his  shade,  and  call  upon 
God  to  deliver  them  from  the  tyranny  of  his  successors.'" 

Portuguese  Decay.  —  The  union  of  the  Portuguese 
crown  with  that  of  Spain  in  1580  ruined  Portuguese 
supremacy,  and  Spain's  enemies,  the  Dutch  and  English, 
preyed  upon  Portuguese  commerce  as  well.  The  Mara- 
thas  on  land  completed  the  work  of  devastation,  so  that 
with  the  sack  of  Bassein  in  1739,  their  power  ended.  To- 
day the  Portuguese  possess  only  1,558  square  miles  of 
Indian  territory  —  about  half  as  large  again  as  Rhode 
Island  —  in  three  sections  on  the  western  coast  with  a 
population  of  572,290,  many  of  whom  are  descendants  of 
the  early  Portuguese  settlers.  Their  European  names  and 
religious  faith  are  about  the  only  features  differentiating 
them  from  the  Hindus,  whom  they  resemble  in  color  and 
habits  of  life.  The  Portuguese  half-castes  on  British  ter- 
ritory are,  as  a  rule,  a  thriftless,  feeble  class. 

2.  The  Dutch,  1602-1824.  —  The  Dutch  were  the  first 
formidable  rivals  of  the  Portuguese  in  India,  where  their 
interests  were  represented  by  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany. During  the  seventeenth  century  they  were  the  fore- 
most maritime  power  in  the  world.  Their  Asiatic  capi- 
tals, Amboyna  and  Batavia  in  the  Malay  Archipelago, 
were  not  so  exclusively  devoted  to  the  development  of 

*  Bftcyclopaedin  Britannica,  vol.  xii.,  r    797,  9th  ed. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTQftS  6/ 

India;  yet  between  tlie  years  1661  and  1669  they  added  to 
their  own  colonies  there  all  the  early  settlements  of  the 
Portuguese  on  the  Malabar  Coast,  as  well  as  St.  Thome 
and  Macassar.  Their  short-sighted  commercial  policy, 
which  staked  all  on  an  unjust  monopoly  of  the  spice  trade, 
and  their  great  cruelty  toward  commercial  rivals,  led  to 
the  loss  of  their  supremacy.  The  company's  death-knell 
"  was  sounded  by  Clive  when,  in  1759,  he  attacked  the 
Dutch  at  Chinsurah,  both  by  land  and  sea,  and  forced 
them  to  an  ignominious  capitulation."^ 

3.  The  Danes,  1616-1845.  —  Though  the  two  Danish 
settlements  founded  in  1616  by  the  Danish  East  India 
Company  at  Tranquebar  and  Serampore,  which  were  pur- 
chased by  the  English  in  1845,  were  never  of  great  com- 
mercial or  political  importance,  they  have  a  large  place  in 
the  history  of  Protestant  missions,  as  will  be  seen.  Other 
settlements  were  Porto  Novo,  Eddova,  and  Holcheri. 

4.  The  French,  16/4.  —  Five  East  Indian  Companies 
were  formed  by  the  French,  the  first  in  1604;  yet  the 
earlier  ones  were  mere  trading  schemes  with  no  perma- 
nent settlements  in  India.  Not  until  the  last  of  these  was 
founded  in  1664,  with  the  intention  of  rivaling  the  English 
and  Dutch  commercial  achievements,  did  France  have  a 
strong  base  at  Pondicherri,  acquired  in  1674.  Two  later 
governors  of  French  factories  and  possessions,  Dumas  and 
Dupleix,  "  first  conceived  the  idea  of  founding  an  Indian 
empire  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Mogul  dynasty,  and  for  a 
time  the  French  nation  successfully  contended  with  the 
English  for  the  supremacy  of  the  East."'  The  treaty  of 
Paris,  1763,  conceded  to  England  what  the  genius  of 
Dupleix  had  earlier  secured  for  France.  By  the  later 
treaties  of  1814  and  1815  she  to-day  possesses  five  sepa- 
rate dependencies  in  India,  wn'th  an  area  of  a  little  less  than 
200  square  miles,  having  a  population  of  273,000. 

*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  426. 
*Ibid.,   p.   426. 


68  INDIA    AND   CHRISTIAN   OPFOliTUNITV 

5.  The  Germans,  i'j22-i'^g^.  —  The  German  or  Ostend 
Company,  incorporated  in  1722,  was  far  more  substantial 
than  Carlyle  pictures  it  in  his  satirical  account  of  the  Em- 
pire, Karl  IV.  and  his  "  Third  Shadow  Hunt.'"  Its  two 
settlements  were  regarded  with  hatred  and  fear  by  the 
English,  Dutch,  and  French,  and  returned  to  the  promoters 
a  very  handsome  profit.  Jealousies  of  the  powers,  diplo- 
matic contests  in  Europe,  and  native  opposition  fomented 
by  European  courts,  led  to  their  final  extinction  in  1793. 

6.  Minor  Attempts.  —  Less  important  attempts,  partly 
abortive,  were  made  by  Prussia  in  1753  and  by  Sweden 
in  1731,  the  latter  being  the  last  nation  of  Europe  to 
engage  in  maritime  trade  with  India,  the  company  having 
been  reorganized  in  1806. 

7.  Causes  of  Continental  Failure.  —  The  nations  of  con- 
tinental Europe,  whose  main  object  was  a  selfish  one,  that 
of  territorial  expansion  and  commercial  aggrandizement, 
failed  to  largely  benefit  or  affect  India.  The  causes  of 
failure  are  thus  stated  by  the  greatest  authority  on  India: 
"  The  Portuguese  failed,  because  they  attempted  a  task 
altogether  beyond  their  strength  —  the  conquest  and  the 
conversion  of  India.  Their  memorials  are  the  epic  of  the 
Lusiads,  the  death-roll  of  the  Inquisition,  an  indigent  half- 
caste  population,  and  three  decayed  patches  of  territory 
on  the  Bombay  coast.  The  Dutch  failed  on  the  Indian 
continent,  because  their  trade  was  based  on  a  monopoly 
which  it  was  impossible  to  maintain,  except  by  great  and 
costly  armaments.  Their  monopoly,  however,  still  flour- 
ishes in  their  isolated  island  dominion  of  Java.  The 
French  failed,  in  spite  of  the  brilliancy  of  their  arms  and 
the  genius  of  their  generals,  from  want  of  steady  support 
at  home.  Their  ablest  Indian  servants  fell  victims  to  a 
corrupt  court  and  a  careless  people.  Their  surviving  set- 
tlements disclose  that    talent    for    careful  administration, 

*  Carlyle,    History   of   Friedrich   IT.    of   Prussia,    3rd   ed.,   vol.    i.,    pp. 

5S5-SS7. 


'       SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  69 

which,  but  for  French  monarchs  and  their  ministers  and 
their  mistresses,  might  have  been  displayed  throughout  a 
wide  Indian  Empire.  The  German  Companies,  whether 
Austrian  or  Prussian,  were  sacrificed  to  the  diplomatic 
necessities  of  their  royal  patrons  in  Europe,  and  to  the 
dependence  of  the  German  States  in  the  wars  of  the  last 
century  upon  the  maritime  powers.  But  the  Germans  have 
never  abandoned  the  struggle!  The  share  in  the  Indian 
trade  which  Prussian  King  and  Austrian  Kaiser  failed  to 
grasp  in  the  eighteenth  century,  has  been  gradually 
acquired  by  German  merchants  in  our  own  day."^ 

IX.    The  British  in  India 

1.  Early  English  Attempts.  —  Early  attempts  of  Eng- 
land to  reach  India  were  directed  to  the  Northwest  Pas- 
sage around  the  Arctic  shores  of  America.  Though  un- 
successful, John  Cabot  and  his  sons  discovered  thereby 
Newfoundland,  and  sailed  as  far  south  as  Virginia.  Later 
English  attempts  to  reach  tropical  India  via  the  Arctic 
have  left  on  American  maps  the  names  of  Frobisher, 
Davis,  Hudson,  and  Baffin.  Another  fruitless  attempt  to 
reach  the  same  goal  was  through  the  Arctic  waters  of 
Europe  and  Asia,  an  attempt  that  ended  at  Archangel  in 
Russia.  Thomas  Stephens,  an  Oxford  Jesuit,  was  the  first 
modern  Englishman  to  reach  the  Indian  peninsula  in  1579. 
He  was  followed  by  a  few  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  but 
it  was  not  until  1699,  when  the  Dutch  raised  the  price  of 
pepper  from  3s.  to  6s.  and  8s.,  that  indignant  London  mer- 
chants arose  in  protest  and  succeeded  on  the  last  day  — 
or  last  day  but  one  —  of  the  seventeenth  century  in 
launching  the  English  East  India  Company. 

2.  East  India  Company,  1600-185^  —  Overcoming  Ri- 
vals.—  This  greatest  factor  in  India's  modern  history, 
while  trading  to   a  limited  extent  with   India   from  the 

*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  440, 


70  INDIA  AND  CHRISTIAN  OPPORTUNlTV 

first,  nevertlieless  centered  its  interests  in  the  East  Indian 
Archipelago.  Being  driven  out  by  the  bitter  and  cruel 
opposition  of  the  Dutch  in  1664,  it  began  in  earnest  to  found 
settlements  on  the  Indian  seaboard.  This  led  to  serious 
conflicts,  both  diplomatic  and  martial,  with  the  Dutch,  Por- 
tuguese, and  French  interests.  One  after  another  these 
powers  gave  way  before  British  diplomacy  and  arms  until 
the  last  Occidental  foe  yielded  with  the  capitulation  of  the 
hill  fortress  of  Gingi  in  1761.  "  That  day  terminated  the 
long  hostilities  between  two  rival  European  powers  in 
Coromandel,  and  left  not  a  single  ensign  of  the  French 
nation  avowed  by  the  authority  of  its  government  in  any 
part  of  India.'" 

Eight  Makers  of  British  India.  —  But  a  more  serious 
task  confronting  the  Company  was  that  of  overcoming  the 
opposition  of  native  rulers  and  their  armies  and  the  devel- 
oping of  their  territory  when  acquired.  This  extension  of 
territory  and  assumption  of  power  both  on  the  part  of  the 
Company  and  later  by  the  Government  were  not  neces- 
sarily due  to  greed,  but  were  often  demanded  by  moral 
obligations.  Eight  names  stand  forth  with  a  special  promi- 
nence between  1757,  the  date  of  the  momentous  battle  of 
Plassey,  and  1857,  when  the  Sepoy  mutiny  ended  in  the 
passing  of  the  Company.  Robert  Clive  had  reached  Mad- 
ras penniless  to  enter  the  service  of  "  John  Company  "  as 
a  writer.  He  was  moved  to  suicide  by  the  drudgery  of 
such  a  life,  but  the  repeated  failure  of  his  pistol  to  do  its 
work  extorted  the  exclamation :  "  It  appears  I  am  destined 
for  something;  I  will  live."  And  he  did  Hve  to  be  known 
to  the  Hindus  as  Sabat  Jung,  "  the  daring  in  war,"  and  to 
the  Occident  as  the  hero  of  Plassey,  and  the  founder  of 
Britain's  Indian  Empire.  Warren  Hastings  preserved  for 
England  during  a  world  crisis  the  Empire  which  Clive  had 
founded.    The  seven  long  years  of  his  remarkable  trial,  so 

^  Orme,  History  of  Military  Transactions  in  Indostan,  Ma^dras  Re- 
print, vol.  ii.,  p.  733. 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  ^t 

well  known  through  Macaulay's  untrustworthy  essay, 
ended  in  acquittal,  and  proved  the  greatness  of  his  genius 
and  the  inestimable  value  of  his  Indian  administration.  In 
the  words  of  H.  G.  Keene :  "  It  was  felt  by  those  per- 
sons who  knew  or  cared  about  the  matter  at  all  that  the 
alleged  errors  of  Hastings  were  overbalanced  by  great 
public  services.  He  had  prevailed  in  war ;  he  had  left  Ben- 
gal at  peace ;  he  had  organized  the  administration  in  all  its 
branches;  he  had  fostered  learning;  above  all,  he  had 
founded  an  empire  which  no  one  thought  of  abandoning.'" 
Charles  Cornivallis,  whose  defeat  at  Yorktown  proved  as 
ruinous  to  the  British  cause  in  America  as  his  Governor- 
Generalship  of  India  was  of  value  to  the  Company  and  to 
England,  extended  the  dominion  founded  and  preserved  by 
Clive  and  Hastings.  Lord  Wellesley  went  to  India  "in- 
spired with  Imperial  projects  which  were  destined  to 
change  the  map  of  the  country.  .  .  .  From  the  first  he  laid 
down  as  his  guiding  principle,  that  the  English  must  be 
the  one  paramount  powder  in  India,  and  that  native  princes 
could  only  retain  the  personal  insignia  of  sovereignty  by 
surrendering  their  political  independence.  The  history  of 
India  since  his  time  has  been  but  the  gradual  development 
of  this  policy,  which  received  its  finishing  touch  when 
Queen  Victoria  was  proclaimed  Empress  of  India  on  the 
first  of  January,  1877."*  The  Marquis  of  Hastings,  who 
had  prepared  himself  for  his  Indian  Governor-Generalship 
by  fighting  in  the  Revolutionary  War  from  Bunker  Hill 
to  Charleston,  succeeded  in  converting  the  brave  moun- 
taineers of  Nepal  into  the  staunchest  of  British  allies;  and 
later  in  1818  his  forces  crushed  out  the  Maratha  confed- 
eracy^ the  last  opponents,  and  absorbed  their  territory. 
The  map  of  India,  as  changed  by  Lord  Hastings,  remained 
unaltered  until  1848,  and  it  was  his  proudest  boast  that  he 
and  Sir  John  Malcolm   "  had   conferred   the  blessings  of 

*^  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia,  vol.  v.,  p.   581. 
■Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  464. 


^2  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

peace  and  good  government  upon  millions  who  had 
groaned  under  the  exactions  of  the  Mahrattas  and  Pin- 
daris."  Other  makers  of  India  were  Lord  Amherst,  by 
W'hom  the  dominion  was  extended  into  Lower  Burma  in 
1825,  and  Lord  William  Bcntinck,  upon  whose  Calcutta 
statue  are  inscribed  Macaulay's  w^ords :  "  He  abolished 
cruel  rites;  he  effaced  humiliating  distinctions;  he  gave 
liberty  to  the  expression  of  public  opinion;  his  constant 
study  it  was  to  elevate  the  intellectual  and  moral  charac- 
ter of  the  nations  committed  to  his  charge."  Lord  Dal- 
housie,  the  greatest  of  Indian  proconsuls,  added  four 
extensive  kingdoms,  besides  a  number  of  principalities,  to 
the  Queen's  dominions.  More  important,  however,  than 
territorial  acquisitions,  which  were  secured  partly  against 
his  will,  were  those  internal  improvements  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  manifold  wrongs  which  marked  his  beneficent 
rule. 

Sepoy  Mutiny.  —  In  1857  occurred  the  Sepoy  Mutiny, 
just  a  century  after  the  battle  of  Plassey  and  200  years 
from  the  time  when  the  Maratha  struck  a  deadly  blow  at 
the  Mohammedan  power.  Its  varied  causes  —  prominent 
among  which  were  the  conquests  of  Dalhousie  and  his 
introduction  of  the  elements  of  modern  civilization,  sup- 
posed by  the  Hindus  to  be  inimical  to  their  best  interests 
—  indicate  the  breaking  up  of  the  old  order  and  the  com- 
ing of  the  new.  Despite  the  horrors  of  that  time  — 
strangely  parallel  to  those  of  the  Chinese  Boxer  Uprising 
in  1900  —  the  event  marks  an  epoch  in  India's  history. 
With  it  came  the  dissolution  of  the  East  India  Company, 
and  the  open  assumption  in  1858  by  the  English  crown  of 
powers  that  had  been  really  accumulating  with  each 
renewal  of  the  Company's  charter  and  the  consequent 
necessity  for  increasing  support  by  royal  troops. 

3.  India's  Expansion  Since  1857-  —  During  the  past 
forty-five  years  Britain's  power  and  influence  in  India 
have  constantly  increased.     On  January   i,   1877,   Queen 


Mausoleum  of  Akbar  the  Great,  near  Agra 


Cawnpore  Memorial  Well — Sepoy  Mutiny 


SOME  HISTORICAL  FACTORS  ^^ 

Victoria  was  proclaimed  Empress  of  India  on  the  historic 
ridge  overlooking  the  Mogul  capital  of  Delhi.  The  last 
portion  of  Burma  remaining  unconquered  became  part  of 
the  Indian  Empire  in  1886,  and  the  British  sphere  of  influ- 
ence has  been  extended  northwest  to  include  a  good  share 
of  Baluchistan  and  a  fringe  of  Afghanistan.  While  the 
native  states  still  contain  two-fifths  of  India's  territory  and 
more  than  one-fifth  of  its  population,  their  relation  to 
British  rule  is  a  close  and  helpful  one  and  they  share,  to 
a  considerable  extent,  in  the  advantages  accruing  to  sub- 
jects on  British  territory. 

4.  Native  Viezvs  of  British  Rule.  —  What  the  Hindus 
have  become  under  British  rule  will  be  seen  in  subsequent 
chapters.  Suffice  it  here  to  give  the  opinion  of  an  enlight- 
ened Hindu  leader,  Babu  S.  N.  Banerji :  "  As  a  represen- 
tative of  the  educated  community  of  India,  —  and  I  am 
entitled  to  speak  on  their  behalf  and  in  their  name,  —  I 
may  say  that  we  regard  British  rule  in  India  as  a  dispen- 
sation of  Divine  Providence.  England  is  here  for  the 
highest  and  the  noblest  purposes  of  history.  She  is  here 
to  rejuvenate  an  ancient  people,  to  infuse  into  them  the 
vigor,  the  virility,  and  the  robustness  of  the  West,  and  so 
pay  off  the  long-standing  debt,  accumulating  since  the 
morning  of  the  world,  which  the  West  owes  to  the  East. 
We  are  anxious  for  the  permanence  of  British  rule  in 
India,  not  only  as  a  guarantee  for  stability  and  order,  but 
because  with  it  are  bound  up  the  best  prospects  of  our 
political  advancement.  .  .  .  Marvelous  as  have  been  the 
industrial  achievements  of  the  Victorian  Era  in  India,  they 
sink  into  insignificance  when  compared  wuth  the  great 
moral  trophies  which  distinguish  that  epoch.  Roads  have 
been  constructed ;  rivers  have  been  spanned ;  telegraph  and 
railway  lines  have  been  laid  down;  time  and  space  have 
been  annihilated;  Nature  and  the  appliances  of  Nature 
have  been  made  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  man.  But 
these  are  nothing  when  compared  to  the  bold,  decisive. 


74  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

statesmanlike  measures  which  have  been  taken  in  hand  for 
the  intellectual,  the  moral,  and  the  political  regeneration 
of  my  countrymen.  Under  English  influences  the  torpor 
of  ages  has  been  dissipated;  the  pulsations  of  a  new  life 
have  been  communicated  to  the  people ;  an  inspiriting  sense 
of  public  duty  has  been  evolved,  the  spirit  of  curiosity  has 
been  stirred,  and  a  moral  revolution,  the  most  momentous 
in  our  annals,  culminating  in  the  transformation  of  na- 
tional ideals  and  aspirations,  has  been  brought  about. "^ 

*  Jones,  India's  Problem,  pp.   51,   52. 


Ill 

RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE 

The  preceding  chapter  has  furnished  the  historical 
background  and  interpretation  of  what  will  here  be  said  of 
the  peoples  and  life  of  India  to-day.  Their  diverse  origin 
and  environment  make  it  almost  impossible  to  speak  in 
anything  more  than  a  general  way  of  their  character  and 
life.  The  reader  must  refer  to  accounts  of  the  different 
races  for  definite  statements  concerning  them. 

I.    Some  Facts  Based  on  the  Census 

I.  Census  of  ipor.  —  One  of  the  most  remarkable 
achievements  in  census  taking  ever  recorded  was  accom- 
plished during  the  month  of  March,  1901,  when  a  vast 
army  of  enumerators  learned  the  leading  facts  concerning 
the  294,361,056 '  inhabitants  of  India.  It  is  one  of  many 
indications  of  Britain's  superb  organization  of  the  forces 
in  her  peninsular  Empire. 

Comparisons.  —  This  population,  excelled  only  by  that 
of  China,  is  two  and  a  third  times  that  of  the  Russian 
Empire,  and  nearly  four  times  as  large  as  the  population 
of  the  United  States.  It  is  almost  exactly  seven  times  as 
great  as  that  of  the  British  Isles.  One-fifth  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  globe  are  consequently  under  consideration 
when  one  studies  India,  a  fact  that  should  be  impressed 
indelibly  upon  the  Christian's  memory. 

^  Statesman's  Year-Booh,  1003,  p.  135.'  Unless  otherwise  stated  the 
India  statistics  of  the  present  chapter  will  be  quoted  from  this  sourcCr 

7^ 


76  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

2.  Distribution.  —  British  and  Native  Possessions.  — 
Roughly  speaking,  these  multitudinous  millions  are  dis- 
tributed between  the  native  states  and  the  British 
provinces  in  the  ratio  of  one  to  four,  the  states  having  a 
population  of  62,461,549,  while  the  British  provinces  have 
231,899,507  inhabitants.  About  four-fifths  of  the  people 
of  India  are  thus  directly  amenable  to  English  authority, 
while  the  remaining  fifth  is  largely  influenced  through 
English  laws  and  friendly  supervision. 

Urban  and  Rural  Distribution.  —  Even  more  important 
from  the  missionary  point  of  view  are  the  facts  concerning 
urban  and  rural  distribution.  In  1901  there  was  a  popula- 
tion of  29,244,221  in  the  2,148  towns  classed  as  urban,  570 
of  which  contained  less  than  5,000  inhabitants  each.  This 
means  that  more  than  nine-tenths  of  the  people  live  in  vil- 
lages and. hamlets  and  that  there  were  but  few  large  cities 
—  only  thirty-one  —  of  over  100,000  inhabitants  in  1901. 

Comparative  Density.  —  The  average  density  of  popula- 
tion for  the  entire  Empire  in  1901  was  167  per  square  mile, 
while  that  of  Ontario  and  Quebec  in  the  same  year  was 
6.76  per  square  mile,  and  the  population  of  the  British 
Isles  was  a  little  more  than  twice  as  dense  as  in  India  — 
343.9  per  square  mile.  In  1900  the  United  States  had  21.4 
inhabitants  per  square  mile,  about  one-eighth  of  the 
density  of  India's  population. 

Differing  Indian  Densities.  —  The  native  states  are  less 
than  half  as  populous  as  the  British  provinces,  the  average 
per  square  mile  in  native  territory  being  ninety-two,  while 
in  the  British  provinces  it  is  213.  The  most  populous  re- 
gions are  those  of  the  Ganges  valley  and  the  coast  dis- 
tricts of  the  Deccan,  while  the  most  sparsely  settled  sec- 
tions are  in  the  northwestern  part  of  India.  The  density 
of  Bengal  province,  including  its  feudatory  states,  is  494 
per  square  mile,  while  Bengal  proper  has  588  as  compared 
with  Rhode  Island's  407,  England  and  Wales'  558,  and 
Belgium's  589  per  square  mile.     Hence  next  to  Belgium, 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  *jy 

the  Nile  valley,  and  the  great  plain  of  China,  Bengal 
proper  is  the  most  densely  peopled  section  of  the  globe  of 
any  considerable  size. 

3.  Foreigners  in  the  Empire.  —  India,  unlike  South 
America  and  Africa,  is  a  mission  field  that  will  never  be 
largely  affected  by  accession  to  its  population  from  other 
lands.  So  far  as  numbers  are  concerned  they  are  a  negligi- 
ble quantity.  Thus  in  1901  the  total  number  of  persons 
not  born  in  India,  including  the  French  and  Portuguese 
possessions,  was  only  641,854,  or  one  foreigner  to  every 
459  of  the  population.  Yet  it  is  true  that  this  small  per- 
centage is  vastly  more  influential  than  numbers  would  sug- 
gest. They  are  India's  rulers,  teachers,  and  captains  of  in- 
dustry and  commerce.  Omitting  all  reference  to  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  aside  from  the  political,  industrial,  and  com- 
mercial relations  of  these  immigrants  which  are  usually 
helpful,  their  presence  is  often  an  evil.  Not  a  few  of  them 
have  exerted  an  unfortunate  influence,  especially  in  in- 
creasing intemperance. 

4.  Emigration.  —  Thus  far  emigration  has  not  affected 
to  any  appreciable  degree  the  population  of  India.  Few  of 
the  higher  classes  leave  their  country,  as  the  obstacles  due 
to  caste  regulations  are  very  serious.  Coolie  emigration 
is  likewise  small,  averaging  during  the  years  1897-1901 
only  13,874  per  annum.  Most  of  these  go  to  the  British 
colonies  in  Africa,  the  South  Seas,  and  the  West  Indies, 
where  the  moral  influences  are  not  much  better  than  in 
their  native  land;  hence  on  their  return  they  do  not  im- 
prove its  morale,  nor  are  they  otherwise  helpful  as  a  re- 
sult of  their  wider  contact  with  the  world.  It  is  not  prob- 
able that  India  will  ever  become  through  emigration  a 
great  factor  in  the  life  of  other  Asiatic  countries,  or  of  any 
portion  of  the  globe.  The  Hindus,  therefore,  are  not  as 
strategic  a  people  to  win  as  are  the  Japanese  and  Chinese, 
either  as  apostles  of  a  new  religion,  or  as  propagators  of 
their  own  faith. 


78  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

5.  Vital  Statistics.  —  Some  particulars  are  called  for  as 
to  the  vital  statistics  of  India.  A  comparison  of  census 
data  for  1891  and  1901  shows  a  net  increase  in  the  Em- 
pire of  7,046,385.  There  was  an  addition  during  these 
years  of  nearly  eleven  millions  in  the  British  provinces  and 
a  decrease  of  nearly  four  millions  in  the  native  states. 
Famine  and  plague  have  been  unusually  severe;  yet  even 
bearing  these  in  mind  an  increase  of  about  two  and  a  half 
per  cent,  in  a  decade  is  small  compared  with  a  gain  during 
the  same  years  of  9.9  per  cent,  in  the  British  Isles,  from 
which  a  large  emigration  was  going  on. 

Prevalent  Diseases.  —  An  examination  of  the  official 
list  of  diseases  causing  death  during  the  years  1882-1890 
indicates  that  by  far  the  largest  proportion  of  serious  cases 
to  be  treated  by  the  medical  missionary  is  the  result  of 
fevers.  Cholera  comes  next,  followed  by  bowel  com- 
plaints, smallpox,  and  injuries.  All  other  fatal  cases  con- 
stituted only  about  one-fifth  of  those  in  the  entire  list,* 
More  than  a  quarter  of  those  born  die  during  their  first 
year,  the  great  mortality  of  infants  being  largely  due  to 
improper  sanitation  and  insufficient  nourishment. 

II.   Tpie  Races  of  India 

I.  Some  Statistics.  —  The  last  Indian  census  divides 
those  races  having  a  population  of  over  one  million  into 
three  great  language  groups,  namely,  the  Indo-Chinese, 
originally  inhabiting  the  northern  and  northeastern  bor- 
ders and  numbering  11.71  millions;  the  Dravido-Munda, 
originally  of  the  Deccan,  with  59.69  millions ;  and  the  Indo- 
Aryan,  originally  of  the  northern  half  of  India,  with  221.15 
millions.  While  language  is  not  always  a  safe  criterion 
for  racial  variations,  especially  when  different  peoples 
have  been  living  beside  one  another  for  thousands  of  years, 
i|:  will  serye  for  the  purpose  now  in  mind. 
» Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  y^^j^ 


RACES    AND   THE   COMMON    LIFE  ^9 

2.  Physical  Qualities.  —  The  appearance  of  these  race 
stocks  varies  with  environment  and  occupation,  as  well  as 
because  of  fundamental  racial  peculiarities.  Even  in  a 
given  village  differences  will  be  noted  that  would  put  to 
the  blush  any  attempt  at  a  scientific  description  of  its  in- 
habitants. Perhaps  nothing  more  definite  can  be  stated 
than  what  Sir  Richard  Temple  has  compressed  into  a  few 
lines.  Physical  traits  "  vary  together  with  race  and  cli- 
mate. The  stature  is  often  tall  in  the  North,  and  short  in 
the  South  —  very  much  as  in  Europe.  Strength  does  not 
depend  on  height,  of  course.  The  Nepalese  are  short,  so 
are  the  Mahrattas;  both  are  strong.  As  a  rule,  strength 
with  courage  is  found  more  in  the  North  than  in  the  South, 
but  least  perhaps  in  the  Gangetic  delta.  Bengal  is  the  only 
large  province  that  furnishes  no  recruits  to  the  army. 
Physical  endurance,  the  power  of  making  protracted  bodily 
exertion  with  but  scanty  sustenance,  is  perceptible  every- 
where; in  some  places  it  is  extraordinary,  and  rarely  to  be 
equalled  in  any  country.  As  a  point  of  comparison,  a  native 
has  hardly  half  the  strength  or  nervous  force  of  a  Euro- 
pean, perhaps  not  more  than  one-third;  his  work  com- 
paratively would  be  in  the  same  proportion."*  Professor 
Ratzel  gives  a  somewhat  more  definite  picture  of  the  Indo- 
Aryans,  who  constitute  more  than  seven-tenths  of  the  en- 
tire population.  "  The  Hindu  of  Aryan  type  is  brown, 
from  dark  to  coffee-colored,  darker  as  a  rule  in  low  than 
in  high  castes;  of  medium  height;  with  sleek  black  hair, 
handsome  oval  face,  thin,  often  slightly  curved,  nose; 
beard  and  hair  less  close  than  in  Europeans.  The  eyes  are 
large  and  almond-shaped,  the  lips  pronounced,  the  chin 
weak.  The  form,  especially  in  the  women,  is  often  very 
beautiful,  but  the  legs  are  weakened  by  long  continuance 
in  a  squatting  posture.  The  skull  is  a  fine  oval  of  small  or 
medium  size,  the  forehead  not  strongly  marked.  Hindus 
of  higher  castes  in  European  dress  most  resemble  Greeks 

^  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia^  vol.   vi,,  p.    104. 


8o  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

or  Southern  Italians.  It  is  difficult  sharply  to  separate 
this  type,  for  unknown  blendings  cause  it  to  vary  in  a 
Semitic,  mulatto,  or  Malay  direction.'" 

3.  Mental  Caliber.  —  Estimates  of  the  intellectual  abil- 
ity of  the  Hindus  vary  from  that  of  slight  respect  to  pe- 
riods of  highest  panegyric.  Abbe  Dubois  thus  writes: 
"  The  mental  faculties  of  the  Hindus  appear  to  be  as 
feeble  as  their  physique.  .  .  .  There  are,  of  course,  very 
many  sensible,  capable  persons  amongst  the  Hindus,  who 
possess  marked  abilities  and  talents,  and  who  by  education 
have  developed  the  gifts  with  which  nature  has  endowed 
them;  but  during  the  300  years  or  so  that  Europeans  have 
been  established  in  the  country  no  Hindu,  so  far  as  I  know, 
has  ever  been  found  to  possess  really  transcendent  genius.'" 
At  the  other  extreme,  place  this  opinion  of  Max-Miiller: 
"If  I  were  asked  under  what  sky  the  human  mind  has  most 
fully  developed  some  of  its  choicest  gifts,  has  most  deeply 
pondered  on  the  greatest  problems  of  life,  and  has  found 
solutions  of  some  of  them  which  well  deserve  the  atten- 
tion even  of  those  who  have  studied  Plato  and  Kant,  I 
should  point  to  India.  And  if  I  were  to  ask  myself  from 
what  literature  w'c  here  in  Europe,  —  we  who  have  been 
nurtured  almost  exclusively  on  the  thoughts  of  Greeks  and 
Romans,  and  of  one  Semitic  race,  the  Jewish,  —  may  draw 
that  corrective  which  is  most  wanted  in  order  to  make  our 
inner  life  more  perfect,  more  comprehensive,  more  uni- 
versal, in  fact  more  truly  human,  a  life  not  for  this  life 
only,  but  a  transfigured  and  eternal  life,  again  I  should 
point  to  India.'"  The  truth  lies  between  these  two  quota- 
tions—  nearer  the  estimate  of  the  Abbe,  certainly,  than 
that  of  the  Oxford  professor.  Ignorance  and  a  low  men- 
tality are  inevitable  in  the  lower  castes  who  have  for  ages 
been  deprived  of  opportunities  for  study  and  whose  lives 

^  Ratzel.   A   History  of  Mankind,  vol.  iii.,  p.    358. 

*  Dubois,  Hindu  Manners,  Customs  and  Ceremonies,  p.  324 

»  Max-Miiller,  India,  What  Can  It  Teach  Us?  p.  24. 


RACES  AND  THE  COxMMON  LIFE  8l 

have  been  spent  in  a  lowly  or  disgusting  employment  with- 
in the  limits  of  a  few  square  miles.  Similarly,  the  Brah- 
mans  ought  to  be  intellectual  as  they  have  been  the  teach- 
ers and  scholars  of  India  for  milleniums.  Heredity  acts  in 
their  favor,  just  as  it- militates  against  the  lower  castes. 

4.  National  Characteristics.  —  Professor  Ratzel  re- 
gards the  race  as  a  whole  as  wanting  in  spirit,  which  so 
bends  and  adapts  itself  as  to  lose  energy.  He  adds :  "  This 
trait,  want  of  spirit  and  laziness,  increases,  as  we  go  east 
and  south,  to  the  point  of  apathy.  The  Indian's  virtues 
are  more  negative  than  positive.  His  best  points  lie  in  the 
direction  of  power  to  endure  and  forego;  his  gentleness, 
however,  does  not  exclude  outbreaks  of  savage  cruelty, 
which  together  with  his  despotic  severity  towards  human 
beings  stands  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  kindness  towards 
animals  enjoined  by  his  religion.  Very  similar  is  his 
northern  brother,  but  hardier  and  more  warlike.  Every- 
where in  North  India  we  find  warHke  races,  particularly 
in  the  west.  Southern  India,  too,  once  had  the  warlike  and 
chivalrous  caste  of  the  Nairs,  who  have  now  degenerated 
to  policemen.  The  Kallers  of  the  Carnatic  inherited  the 
qualities  of  bold  robbers  and  fighters ;  and  a  part  of  them 
were  distinguished  for  their  loyalty  as  *  castle-warders.' 
They  are  people  who  are  betrothed  over  a  sword.  Even 
the  primitive  stocks  have  not  all  descended  to  the  lowest 
stage  in  renunciation  of  self-respect  and  loss  of  resisting 
power."^  A  paragraph  from  Sir  Richard  Temple's  article 
above  referred  to  adds  other  important  particulars.  "  For 
the  upper  and  middle  classes,  domestic  affection,  munifi- 
cence, tenacious  adherence  to  custom,  veneration  with  awe 
leading  to  superstition,  love  of  external  nature,  an  inclina- 
tion for  abstract  meditation,  mental  acuteness  and  subtlety, 
litigiousness,  shrewdness  of  observation;  for  the  humbler 
classes,  temperance,  patience,  docility,  charitableness  to  the 
indigent,  endurance,  fortitude  under  disaster,  and  industry. 
^  Ratzel,   /i   Htsiory   of  Manhtid,   vol.   iii.,  p.   365. 


82  INDIA  AND  CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

The  qualities  termed  principle  and  public  spirit  in  Western 
phrase  cannot  be  predicated  of  any  class.  Deep  attach- 
ment to  the  ancestral  religion  takes  the  place  of  patriotism. 
*  Dharm '  to  the  Hindu,  and  *  Din '  to  the  Mohammedan, 
mean  virtue  under  a  religious  sanction.  In  justice  to  the 
women,  it  must  be  said  that,  despite  their  subjection  and 
seclusion,  they  have  shown  courageous  fortitude  in  times 
of  danger  and  charitable  munificence  when  endowed  with 
means."^ 

5.  Wild  Tribes.  —  Those  peoples  who  most  interest  for- 
eigners because  of  their  nearness  to  nature  or  lack  of  culti- 
vation are  the  small  non-Aryan  tribes  and  nationalities 
which  do  not  figure  largely  in  accounts  of  the  country. 
Among  these  are  the  isolated  Andaman  Islanders  in  the 
Bay  of  Bengal,  who,  when  first  met  by  the  English,  were 
naked  cannibals  of  great  ferocity.  They  daubed  them- 
selves with  red  earth  and  in  times  of  mourning  donned  a 
suit  of  olive-colored  mud.  To  express  friendship  or  joy 
they  made  a  noise  like  weeping.  Their  names  were  of  a 
common  gender  and  were  given  before  birth.  As  for  re- 
ligion, their  sole  conception  of  a  god  was  that  of  an  evil 
spirit  who  spread  diseases.  Though  after  half  a  century 
of  English  rule  they  have  become  somewhat  civilized,  they 
are  yet  sunk  in  deepest  degradation. 

Anamalai  Hill  Tribes.  —  In  Southern  Madras  on  the 
Anamalai  Hills  there  is  a  whole  series  of  broken  tribes. 
Hamlets  of  long-haired  Puliars  live  on  jungle  products, 
mice,  or  any  small  animals  that  they  can  catch,  and  wor- 
ship demons.  The  thick-lipped,  small-bodied  Kaders  are 
a  remnant  of  a  higher  race,  who  file  the  front  teeth  of  the 
upper  jaw  as  a  marriage  ceremony. 

The  Leaf-ivearers  of  Orissa.  —  In  the  tributary  state  of 
Orissa  is  the  interesting  tribe  of  Juangs  or  Patuas,  literally 
the  "leaf-wearers."  Their  women  formerly  wore  no  cloth- 
ing, their  only  vestige  of  covering  being  a  few  strings  of 
'  Chcm\>€r$'s  Encyclopaedia,  vol.  ri.,  p.  104. 


KACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  83 

beads  around  the  waist  with  bunches  of  leaves  attached. 
Until  quite  lately  they  have  had  no  knowledge  of  the 
metals,  but  instead  used  flint  weapons,  thus  representing 
the  Stone  Age  in  our  own  day.  Sir  William  Hunter  quotes 
this  statement  concerning  their  habitations :  "  Their  huts 
are  among  the  smallest  that  human  beings  ever  deliberately 
constructed  as  dwellings.  They  measure  about  six  feet  by 
eight.  The  head  of  the  family  and  all  the  females  huddle 
together  in  this  one  shell,  not  much  larger  than  a  dog  ken- 
nel.'" Other  peoples  quite  as  interesting  are  living  outside 
the  pale  of  Christian  interests,  though  efforts  are  being 
made  to  reach  them  by  various  missions. 

6.  Wild  Tribes  vs.  Hindus.  —  The  advantages  and  dis- 
advantages of  missionary  labor  among  the  wild  tribes  as 
contrasted  with  those  for  the  civilized  races  are  brought 
out  in  the  following  statement  concerning  the  difference 
between  the  Hindus  and  these  tribes,  "(i)  The  Hindus 
have  division  of  caste;  the  aborigines  have  no  caste.  (2) 
The  Hindu  widows  do  not  remarry;  the  widows  of  the 
aborigines  do  remarry,  mostly  taking  the  younger  brothers 
of  their  former  husbands.  (3)  The  Hindus  venerate  the 
cow  and  abstain  from  beef;  the  aborigines  feed  on  all  flesh 
alike.  (4)  The  Hindus  abstain  from  intoxicating  drinks; 
the  aborigines  delight  in  them,  and  even  their  religious 
ceremonies  are  not  complete  without  them.  (5)  The  Hin- 
dus prepare  their  own  food,  or  take  only  what  has  been 
prepared  by  a  higher  caste ;  the  aborigines  partake  of  food 
prepared  by  any  one.  (6)  The  Hindus  do  not  shed  blood 
habitually,  but  no  ceremony  of  the  aborigines  is  complete 
without  the  shedding  of  blood.  (7)  The  Hindus  have  a 
caste  of  priests;  the  aborigines  select  their  priests  out  of 
those  particularly  skilled  in  magic,  sorcery,  or  divination, 
or  in  curing  diseases.  (8)  The  Hindus  burn  their  dead; 
the  aborigines  mostly  bury  their  dead.  (9)  The  Hindu 
civil  institutes  are  municipal;  those  of  the  aborigines  are 

^Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.   xii.,  p.   777. 


84 


1NDL\   AND   CHRISTIAN    OlTORTUNltY 


patriarchal.  (lo)  The  Hindus  have  known  letters, 
science,  and  the  art  of  writing  for  more  than  three  thou- 
sand years;  while  the  aborigines  are  now,  at  least, 
illiterate.'" 

III.    Languages  and  Literature 


1.  Statistics.  —  The  languages  spoken  in  1901  by  a 
larger  number  of  people  than  a  million  are  eighteen.'  Ten 
years  before  there  were  no  less  than  150  different  tongues 
that  were  regarded  as  worthy  of  individual  mention  in  the 
census  tables.  As  the  foot-note  indicates,  in  1901  about 
three  in  every  ten  spoke  Hindi  or  Hindustani.  The  States- 
man's Year-Book  remarks  that  a  man  knowing  ordinary 
Hindustani  could  make  himself  understood  in  most  parts 
of  India,  a  statement  tempered  by  the  late  Census  Com- 
missioner, J.  A.  Baines'  assertion  "  that,  what  with  real 
differences  of  language  and  local  dialects  of  peculiar 
vocabulary  or  pronunciation,  the  native  of  any  part  of  In- 
dia cannot  go  many  miles  beyond  his  birth-place  without 
finding  himself  at  a  loss  in  communicating  with  his  fel- 
low."^ Le  Bon  declares  even  more  despairingly  that  if 
one  wishes  to  be  understood  in  every  part  of  India,  before 
starting  on  his  tour  he  must  know  240  languages  and  300 
dialects. 

2.  Linguistic  Facts  —  Sanskrit. — Though  it  is  no  longer 
a  spoken  language,— if  indeed  it  ever  was, —  it  is  a  help  to 
an  understanding  of  the  Aryan  vernaculars,   which   are 

^  Hurst,  Indika,  pp.    124,   125. 

-Languages  and    Population    Speaking   Them   in    1901,    Expressed   in 


Millions: 

LANGUAGES 

POP. 

LANGUAGES 

POP. 

LANGU.^GES 

POP. 

Hindi 

.     .     87.14 

Rajasthani 

10.92 

Santali      .     .     . 

1.79 

Bengali 

,     .     44-62 

Kanarese     . 

•     10.37 

W.    Pahari    .     . 

1. 71 

Telugu 

.     .     20.70 

Gujarati      . 

.       9.93 

Assamese      .     . 

1.35 

Marathi 

.     .     18.24 

Burmese 

7-47 

Central     Pahari 

1.27 

Punjabi 

.     17.07 

Malayalam 

6.03 

Pushtu     .     .     . 

1.22 

Tamil     . 

.     .     16.53 

Sindhi    .     . 

3.01 

Gondi     .       .     . 

I.I* 

» India, 

Cfyhn,  etc. 

p.    3- 

RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  85 

spoken  by  about  sixty-five  per  cent,  of  the  people  of  the 
Empire.  The  great  body  of  modern  Indian  speech  is  made 
up  of  words  similar  in  nature  or  origin  to  the  correspond- 
ing ones  in  Sanskrit;  while  in  the  vocabulary  of  religion, 
philosophy,  and  abstract  ideas,  identical  terms  are  im- 
ported from  that  language.'  Even  Tamil,  a  Dravidian 
tongue,  is  said  to  contain  forty  per  cent,  of  Sanskrit.' 
Apart  from  the  value  of  this  tongue  as  containing  most 
of  the  sacred  books  and  as  giving  prestige  to  the  mission- 
ary who  has  mastered  it,  it  is  an  actual  aid  to  language 
study,  particularly  in  Northern  India. 

Hindi  and  Hindustani.  —  The  language  most  widely 
spoken  and  ranking  first  among  Indian  vernaculars  in 
strength  and  dignity  is  Hindi,  with  its  cognate  form  of 
speech  known  as  Hindustani,  or  Urdu.  It  prevails  through 
most  of  Northern  India,  except  in  the  border  regions. 
Through  the  early  Mohammedan  conquerors  in  the  North 
Persian  and  Arabic  were  introduced,  while  the  conquered 
used  Hindi.  The  constant  mingling  of  the  races,  partic- 
ularly in  the  camps,  modified  each  form  of  speech  and  re- 
sulted in  a  composite  known  as  Urdu,  — "  camp  "  lan- 
guage, —  or  Hindustani. 

English.  —  Though  twenty-five  Indian  languages  are  na- 
tive to  a  larger  number  than  is  English,  it  is  nevertheless 
the  language  of  the  Government  and  of  the  higher  educa- 
tion. Being  acquired  from  literature  that  is  largely  classi- 
cal and  from  foreign  instructors  who  are  purists  to  a  large 
degree,  or  else  from  native  teachers  who  have  acquired  it 
in  the  way  described,  the  better  educated  have  an  English 
pronunciation  and  vocabulary  that  evoke  admiration.  Of 
course,  those  who  merely  dabble  with  the  language  seem  to 
be  speaking  pidgin  English,  as  they  say  towelee  for  towel, 
buckus  for  box,  Markeen  for  American,  etc.  The  semi- 
philosophical  character  of  Indian  students,  as  they  study 

'  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  pp.  397.  398. 
*  Principal  Nations  of  India,  p.  1 24. 


S.6  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

English,  is  reflected  in  the  following  definitions  of  vice 
and  beauty,  found  in  an  examination  paper  of  a  student  of 
Madras  University.  "Vice,  —  Whatever  may  be  the  vices, 
they  still  have  outwardly  some  mark  of  virtue.  Beauty.  — 
Some  girls  buy  the  powder  at  bazaar  to  rub  their  faces 
with  it,  so  that  they  may  look  more  beautiful.  By  so  do- 
ing old  men  also  appear  young,  which  is  a  work  of  miracle 
in  nature,  and  those  who  desire  to  be  beautiful  wore  curled, 
snaky  hair  of  another  woman  who  is  dead.  They  who 
wear  most  of  it  are  heavy  physically  and  morally  light.*'^ 

3.  Vernacular  Literature.  —  While  English  will  ever 
increase  in  prevalence  and  influence,  the  great  work  of 
missions  must  always  be  accomplished  through  the  vernac- 
ulars. With  each  year  the  native  press  is  increasing  its 
output  and  consequent  power.  During  1901  the  number  of 
vernacular  newspapers  published  was  774  in  nineteen  lan- 
guage^ or  dialects.  The  daily  having  the  largest  circula- 
tion was  the  Gurakhi  of  Bombay  with  about  5,000  copies 
per  issue,  while  the  weekly  standing  foremost  was  the 
Dasumati  of  Calcutta  with  17,000  copies.  In  1900-1  there 
were  in  India  2,198  presses  at  work;  and  in  addition  to 
1,146  newspapers  and  periodicals  —  including  English  — 
which  were  printed,  8,036  books  were  published.  Of  these 
6,807  were  in  Indian  languages.* 

Need  of  Better  Literature.  —  With  the  fifteen  million 
readers  in  India  to  day,  the  need  of  a  higher  grade  of  ver- 
nacular literature  is  made  evident  by  the  considerations 
urged  by  Dr.  Jones.  "  The  books  which  the  Hindus  have 
published  in  their  vernaculars,  and  which  alone  are  acces- 
sible to  the  people,  are  low  in  their  tone  and  debasing  in 
their  morality,  even  when  they  are  not  anti-Christian  and 
infidel  in  their  aim  and  spirit.  There  is  great  need  that 
we  supplant  the  unworthy,  trivial,  obscene  books  which 
find  currency  among  the  natives,  by  a  wholesome,  pure  and 

^  Hurst,  Indika,  p.   362. 

'  Statesman's   Year-Book,  1903,  p.    143. 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  87 

elevating  Christian  literature.  The  minds  of  the  people  of 
that  land  are  poisoned,  beyond  anything  that  we  realize,  by 
that  debasing  literature  which  is  the  product  of  their  own 
faith  and  legends* 

Infidel  Writings.  —  "  The  enemies  of  our  faith  are  ac- 
tive in  India.  Anti-Christian  and  infidel  literature  is  scat- 
tered broadcast  over  that  land.  Bradlaugh,  the  high- 
priest,  and  Ingersoll,  the  prophet,  of  unbelief,  are  known 
all  over  India.  Their  base  and  slanderous  attacks  upon  our 
faith  are  there  not  only  known  in  English,  but  they  are 
translated  into  many  of  the  vernaculars  of  the  land.  I  have 
seen  extensive  quotations  from  Ingersoll's  '  Mistakes  of 
Moses,'  printed  in  tract  form  and  scattered  among  the  peo- 
ple in  remote  villages  in  South  India.  Many  of  the  peo- 
ple of  that  land  learn  of  Christianity  only  through  these 
translated  diatribes  of  Western  infidels."^ 

IV.   The  Common  Life 

One  cannot  picture  the  common  life  of  India  within 
brief  compass,  differing  so  widely  in  its  varied  realms,  un- 
less the  attempt  be  confined  to  the  life  of  typical  sections. 
Here  the  necessary  lack  of  detail  is  supplemented  by  the 
Indian  fiction  of  to-day,  particularly  that  of  Kipling,  Mrs. 
Steele,  and  Mr.  Forrest. 

I.  A  Cosmopolitan  City.  —  City  life  affects  only  the 
minority  of  India's  inhabitants  and  is  to  some  degree  modi- 
fied by  contact  with  the  Occident.  A  ride  through  its  capital 
reveals  this  life  as  most  largely  affected  by  European  con- 
tact. Calcutta  is  known  as  the  city  of  palaces,  mainly  be- 
cause it  is  so  great  a  center  for  England's  rulers  and  men 
of  wealth.  Within  its  eight  square  miles  —  thirty  with 
suburbs  —  are  crowded  over  1,100,000  inhabitants,  very 
cosmopolitan  in  character,  though  mostly  natives  of 
Bengal. 

^Missionary  Review  of  the  W oriel,  1902,  pp.   5x3,  514. 


88  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OrPORT UNITY 

European  Section.  —  In  the  European  section  of  the  city 
with  its  beautiful  Maidan  Esplanade,  its  official  buildings 
and  abodes  of  wealth,  its  great  fort  and  its  gardens,  we 
have  little  to  do,  since  they  remind  one  of  a  modified  Eng- 
land rather  than  of  India.  The  foreign  residences  are  de- 
tached and  stand  in  ample  grounds.  The  Doric  pillars,  flat 
roofs,  and  plastered  walls,  set  off  by  green  blinds,  are  sug- 
gestive of  coolness,  an  object  of  desire  in  that  hot  climate. 
There  are  no  cellars  or  basements,  since,  in  the  rainy  sea- 
son, the  water  is  only  three  or  four  feet  from  the  surface. 
The  two  or  three  stories  are  devoted  to  the  various  pur- 
poses of  a  wealthy  home,  and  the  furnishings  correspond 
with  the  means  of  the  owner.  Broad  verandas  are  a  fea- 
ture in  many  homes  and  the  housetop  is  a  place  of  common 
resort. 

The  Native  City.  —  In  the  native  portion  of  the  city 
such  innovations  as  Victoria  Square  give  place  to  old 
names,  as  the  Barber's  Bazaar  and  the  Brahman's  Village. 
Calcutta  being  so  comparatively  recent  a  city,  there  are 
few  buildings  more  than  a  century  old.  One  is  struck  at 
the  outset  by  the  fact  that  all  of  a  tradesman's  goods  are 
exposed  to  view  out  in  front,  where  he  sits  or  stands  sell- 
ing his  wares,  often  in  very  small  quantities.  Some  sales 
are  so  limited  in  value  that  they  are  paid  for  in  cowries, 
100  of  which  are  worth  about  a  cent.  Another  striking  fea- 
ture is  the  method  of  carrying  on  the  work  in  the  open 
shops,  which  are  at  once  salesrooms  and  manufactories.  In 
some  of  the  narrow  streets,  European  and  Asiatic  goods 
are  for  sale,  the  resort  of  most  travelers. 

Homes  of  Wealth.  —  The  homes  of  the  wealthy  natives 
in  Calcutta  impress  the  traveler  with  their  size.  This  is  a 
necessity,  since  the  family  system  of  India  may  sometimes 
make  it  necessary  to  furnish  accommodations  for  200  peo- 
ple. These  homes  consist  of  two  or  more  courts,  one  be- 
hind the  other.  The  front  one  is  occupied  by  the  gentle- 
men of  the  family.    The  rear  of  the  quadrangle  contains  a 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  89 

room  or  a  platform  intended  for  worship,  to  the  latticed 
galleries  of  which  the  women  of  the  household  living  in 
the  quadrangle  behind  have  access.  Back  of  the  women's 
quadrangle,  there  is  sometimes  a  walled  enclosure  contain- 
ing a  tank  for  bathing. 

Houses  of  the  Poor.  —  A  vast  majority  of  the  homes  in 
Calcutta  are  of  a  very  different  style.  They  are  structures 
of  mud  or  matting  with  tiled  or  thatched  roof  and  with 
only  a  little  lattice  work  to  admit  light  and  air.  Some  of 
them  are  without  even  this  convenience,  so  that  when  the 
doors  are  closed  they  are  quite  dark  within.  They  may 
likewise  have  a  veranda,  where  guests  of  the  family  are  re- 
ceived. Each  one  of  the  houses  thus  described  is  the  home 
of  a  family,  and  its  furnishings  are  very  meager. 

2.  A  Southern  Village.  —  The  majority  of  the  mission- 
aries and  their  converts  are  found  in  the  southern  half  of 
India,  and  nearly  all  of  the  Christians  call  the  village  their 
home.  Since  about  nine-tenths  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Empire  live  in  these  little  centers  of  life,  the  village  is 
worthy  of  special  mention.  A  native  writer,  Mr.  Rama 
Krishna,  speaks  of  the  average  hamlet  as  containing  some 
fifty  or  sixty  houses.  "  A  cluster  of  trees  consisting  of  the 
tamarind,  mango,  cocoanut,  plaintain,  and  other  useful  In- 
dian trees,  a  group  of  dwellings,  some  thatched  and  some 
tiled,  a  small  temple  in  the  center  —  these  surrounded  on 
all  sides  by  about  500  acres  of  green  fields,  and  a  large 
tank  capable  of  watering  those  500  acres  of  land  for  about 
six  months  —  this  is  the  village."^  Scarcely  any  one  lives 
isolated  outside  the  hamlet,  because  of  the  greater  protec- 
tion afforded  from  the  lawless  in  a  center  of  life.  The 
houses  are  of  one  story  and  have  mud  walls  and  a  thatched 
or  tiled  roof,  though  the  latter  is  an  extravagance  which 
only  the  well-to-do  can  afford.  The  front  walls  may  be 
decorated  with  vertical  stripes  about  a  foot  wide,  red  alter- 
nating with  w^hibe.  More  commonly,  however,  utility 
^  Rama  Krishna,  Life  in  an  Indian  Village,  p.  29, 


90  iXUrA    AND    CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

rather  than  ornamentation  is  consulted  and  the  front  of 
the  house  is  covered  with  cakes  of  cow  manure,  which 
dry  in  the  sun  so  as  to  become  fit  for  fuel.  The  limited 
space  around  the  house  is  occupied  by  cattle-stalls  and 
grain-bins.  Not  far  away  is  the  village  tank  for  washing 
clothes,  watering  cattle,  and  irrigating  fields.  The  village 
well,  patronized  by  the  higher  castes,  the  bazaar  or  market 
place,  where  the  few  articles  required  by  the  inhabitants 
are  sold,  stray  donkeys  grazing  near  by,  a  few  starving 
dogs,  and  an  abundance  of  dusky  children  in  nature's  garb, 
are  other  details  in  the  picture. 

House  Interior.  —  "  The  interior  of  the  average  native 
house  is  even  more  unattractive  than  its  rude  exterior. 
Chairs  and  tables  there  are  none.  A  low  stool,  a  rude  cot 
always  shorter  than  a  man  and  without  mattress,  a  loose 
mat  for  the  accommodation  of  visitors,  a  box  or  two  for 
storing  away  jewels,  best  clothing,  and  other  valuables, 
and  innumerable  earthen  pots  for  holding  rice  and  other 
provisions,  complete  the  stock  of  furniture,  but  not  all  the 
other  stock.  Cows,  calves,  buffaloes,  bullocks,  and  fowls 
are  received  upon  terms  of  the  greatest  familiarity  in  the 
ordinary  Hindu  house,  and  generally  occupy  a  conspicuous 
place  in  the  very  bosom  of  the  family."' 

3.  Hindu  Family  System.  —  We  are  not  to  understand 
by  the  word  family  what  is  included  in  that  term  in  the  Oc- 
cident, In  India  the  joint-family  system  prevails,  accord- 
ing to  which  its  members  for  three  generations  live  to- 
gether, where  this  is  possible.  Not  only  do  they  dwell  to- 
gether, but  they  hold  all  things  in  zommon,  no  member  of 
it  having  the  right  to  claim  anything  as  his  own.  We  thus 
have  in  India  the  patriarchal  system,  which  minimizes  the 
individual  and  magnifies  the  family  unit.  With  the  incom- 
ing of  Western  ideas,  the  educated  classes  of  the  Empire 
are  becoming  restive,  but  steps  have  been  taken  to  modify 
the  whole  regime.     "  The  recent  introduction  to  the  Ma- 

^  Rowe,  Every-Day  Life  in  Jn4ia,  pp.   30,  3X. 


RiVCES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  9 1 

dras  Legislature  of  the  so-called  '  Gains  of  Learning  Bill ' 
is  the  first  serious  attack  made  upon  that  system.  By 
means  of  this  bill,  which  was  introduced  by  an  orthodox 
Hindu  but  which  is  not  yet  passed,  an  educated  man  could 
claim  exclusive  right  to  ownership  of  all  properties  ac- 
quired by  him  through  his  education.  Thus,  for  the  first 
time  in  India  an  individual  might  claim,  apart  from  the 
family,  that  wealth  which  was  acquired  by  himself. 
This  bill  has  brought  opposition  from  the  public,  be- 
cause it  conflicts  with  the  rights  of  the  joint-family 
and  is  a  serious  blow  to  all  the  old  Hindu  family 
privileges.  The  Hindu  joint-family  system,  while  it  has 
been  a  source  of  some  blessing  to  the  land,  has  also  been 
a  serious  curse  in  that  it  has  fostered  laziness,  dissension, 
and  improvidence,  and  has  put  a  ban  upon  individual  ini- 
tiative and  ambition.'"  It  should  be  added  that  the  system 
above  described  affects  mainly  the  higher  grades  of  so- 
ciety. The  laboring  classes  usually  live  separately,  as  in 
other  countries. 

4.  India's  Women.  —  The  low  place  given  to  women  in 
the  family  is  the  primal  cause  of  India's  degradation,  if 
Tennyson's  lines  are  true: 

"  The  woman's  cause  is  man's  ;  they  rise  or  sink 
Together,  dwarfed  or  godlike,  bond  or  free ; 
If   she   be   small,   slight-natured,   miserable, 
How  shall  men  grow?" 

From  the  hour  when  the  infant  girl's  advent  is  reported  by 
the  disappointed  father  as  the  birth  of  "  nothing  "  and  re- 
garded as  due  to  the  anger  of  offended  deities,  to  the  day 
of  a  Hindu  woman's  death,  she  endures  deprivations  and 
actual  wrongs  which  would  be  insufferable  in  an  enlight- 
ened community.  It  is  true  that  some  of  these  wrongs  arc 
imperfectly  understood  in  the  West.  Thus  the  horrors  of 
zenana  life,  which  are  often  measured  by  exaggerated  illus- 
trations, affect  only  a  fraction  of  Indian  women,  the  rc- 

'  Jones,   Itidta's  Problem,   pp.   24,   25. 


92  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

mainder  moving  about  almost  as  freely  as  in  other  lands. 
The  real  evil  of  the  zenana  system  consists  in  the  fact 
which  causes  it,  namely,  the  lust  of  evil  men  and  the  polyg- 
amy of  the  household,  or  the  joint-family  system,  which 
necessitate  the  seclusion  of  their  women.  The  high-born 
lady  herself,  however,  often  regards  her  narrow  and  irk- 
some life  as  a  badge  of  rank  and  a  cause  for  con- 
gratulation. 

Women  Admired  and  Honored.  —  Western  travelers  re- 
call with  delight  the  beauty  of  many  Indian  women,  despite 
the  blemishes  of  reddened  finger  nails,  saffron-dyed  faces, 
throat  bedaubed  with  red  ocher,  and  a  wealth  of  clumsy 
jewelry,  including  iron  rings  among  the  poorer  classes.  It 
is  also  to  be  noted  that  the  female  in  India  as  in  no  other 
country  holds  a  large  place  in  the  worship  of  the  people. 
The  famous  reformer,  Keshab  Chander  Sen,  though  using 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  nevertheless  felt  so  deeply  the  power 
of  the  fact  just  mentioned,  that  he  changed  its  first  sen- 
tence to  "  Our  mother  who  art  in  heaven."^  Missionaries 
also  are  not  slow  to  render  these  women  high  honor,  as 
Vv'itness  these  testimonies :  "  Such  extraordinary  accounts 
of  the  condition  of  Hindu  women  have  found  their  way 
into  English  print  that  the  European  new-comer's  greatest 
surprise  is  to  find  them  so  much  like  their  sisters  in  other 
parts  of  the  world.  He  observes  in  them  many  of  the 
graces,  virtues,  and  whims  which  belong  to  women  in 
European  countries.  .  .  .  Still,  they  are  not  the  slaves  — 
the  miserable  victims  of  men  and  of  gods  —  which  our 
early  reading  led  us  to  picture  them.  It  is  true  that  women 
do  not  receive  that  respect  and  consideration  here  which 
they  meet  with  in  European  countries,  but  it  does  not 
follow  that  they  are  unhappy  in  consequence  of  the  neg- 
lect.'" "Generally  speaking,  woman  is  the  redeeming  fea- 
ture of  India.     .    .    .     Usually  she  is  devoted  to  her  hus- 

*  Joiys,  India's  Problem,  pp.  i49»  iSO. 

•  Kowc,  Every- Day  Life  in  India,  p.  89. 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  93 

band,  a  passionate  lover  of  her  children,  the  conserver  of 
society,  the  true  devotee  in  religion."^ 

The  Obverse  —  Zenana  Women.  —  This,  however,  is 
less  than  half  the  truth.  Beginning  w^ith  the  zenana  life, 
we  note  the  claim  that  "  it  has  now  become  to  India  ladies 
a  part  and  parcel  of  their  creed.  Modesty,  in  a  word,  is 
to  them  the  very  breath  of  their  nostrils.  To  do  away  with 
it  is  a  violation  of  one  of  the  virtues  of  a  woman.'"'  But 
what  of  their  virtual  imprisonment,  injurious  to  themselves 
and  to  their  children  ?  What  of  the  ever-present  conscious- 
ness of  their  sex  and  their  fear  of  man  ?  One  consequence  of 
such  an  emphasis  is  expressed  in  the  words  of  the  Indian 
writer :  "  Instead  of  promoting  virtue,  it  has  tended  to 
make  the  imagination  prurient."  Think,  too,  of  the  nar- 
row horizon  of  thought  and  activity  of  these  prisoners 
without  hope.  One  does  not  wonder  at  the  oft-quoted 
statement  of  the  well  known  traveler,  Mrs.  Bishop,  when, 
to  the  deprivations  already  named,  are  added  the  heart 
burnings  of  polygamous  households.  *'  I  have  lived  in 
zenanas,"  she  writes,  "  and  can  speak  from  experience  of 
what  the  lives  of  secluded  women  can  be,  the  intellect  so 
dwarfed  that  a  woman  of  twenty  or  thirty  is  more  like 
a  child,  while  all  the  worst  passions  of  human  nature  are 
developed  and  stimulated;  jealousy,  envy,  murderous  hate, 
intrigue  running  to  such  an  extent  that  in  some  countries 
I  have  hardly  ever  been  in  a  woman's  house  without 
being  asked  for  drugs  to  disfigure  the  favorite  wife,  or 
take  away  her  son's  life.  This  request  has  been  made 
of  me  nearly  one  hundred  times.  This  is  a  natural  product 
of  a  system  that  we  ought  to  have  subverted  long  ago." 

Early  Marriage  and  Widowhood.  —  Without  speaking 
of  the  host  of  women  who  leave  home  to  pander  to  the 
gods  and  godless  men,  one  can  not  but  think  of  the  mil- 
lions of  Indian  women  who  endure  the  sorrows  incident 

*  Jones,   India's   Problem,    p.    151. 

■  Fuller,   Wrongs  of  Indian   Womanhood,  p.  97. 


94  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

to  child  marriage.  A  girl  may  be  betrothed  as  soon  as 
born,  though  her  second  and  real  marriage  may  not  occur 
until  she  is  ten  or  more.  Too  often  becoming  a  mother  be- 
fore she  is  mature  enough  to  endure  the  strain,  she  goes 
through  life  a  victim  of  brutal  lust,  it  may  be  of  a  man 
several  times  her  own  age.  There  are  two  other  things 
even  worse  than  this.  It  may  happen  that  no  one  is 
found  to  marry  her,  and  as  custom  requires  her  to  have 
a  husband,  she  becomes,  in  Bengal  at  least,  the  wife  of 
a  professional  bridegroom  of  the  Brahman  caste.  He 
will  marry  any  number  of  women  and  girls  for  a  suitable 
fee,  seeing  his  wives  occasionally,  or  perhaps  never  after 
the  wedding-day.  The  other  greatly  dreaded  wrong  is 
that  of  child  widowhood,  which,  in  multitudinous  cases,  is 
her  lot,  even  though  she  may  never  have  been  married, 
her  betrothed  having  died  in  boyhood.  As  in  1891  there 
were  in  India  22,700,000  widows,  one  realizes  the  flood 
of  misery  that  overspreads  the  land.  Everywhere  are 
shorn,  jewelless,  starving  outcasts,  the  ill-starred  members 
of  society,  shunned  by  all  except  those  base  men  for  whom 
the  word  widow  is  synonymous  with  harlot.  Those  wid- 
ows who  have  sons  are  an  exception  to  others  not  so 
blessed. 

Woman's  Comynon  Lot.  —  What  the  masses  of  Hindu 
women  endure  is  indicated  in  Bishop  Caldwell's  Tinnevelly 
'Missions.  "If  slavery  means  social  degradation,  Hindu 
women  must  be  regarded  as  slaves;  for  not  only  are  they 
denied  equal  rights  with  the  men,  but  they  are  regarded  as 
having  no  claim  to  any  rights  or  feelings  at  all.  The 
Hindu  wife  is  not  allowed  to  eat  with  her  own  husband; 
her  duty  is  to  wait  upon  her  husband  when  he  is  eating 
and  to  eat  what  he  has  left.  If  they  have  any  children, 
the  boys  eat  with  their  father,  and,  after  they  have  done, 
the  girls  eat  with  their  mother.  Nor  is  this  custom  among 
the  lower  classes  only;  it  is  the  custom  amongst  every 
class  of  Hindus,  in  every  part  of  India  where  I  have  been. 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  95 

If  a  party  are  going  anywhere  on  a  visit,  the  men  always 
walk  first,  the  women  humbly  follow;  the  wife  never 
so  far  forgets  her  place  as  to  walk  side  by  side  with  her 
husband,  much  less  arm  in  arm.  Worse  than  all  this  is 
the  circumstance  that  women  are  unable  to  read,  and  are 
not  allowed  to  learn."^ 

Burmese  Women.  —  One  numerous  class  of  women  fur- 
nish an  exception  to  the  above  statements,  namely,  those 
living  in  Burma.  Mrs.  Hart  says  of  them :  "  While  the  Bur- 
mese man  has,  by  the  force  of  the  combined  influences  of 
Buddhism  and  climate,  become  either  an  indolent,  harmless 
monk,  or  an  easy-going,  amiable,  pleasure-loving  country- 
man, the  Burmese  woman,  influenced  in  a  far  less  degree 
by  religion,  untrammeled  by  convention,  and  gifted  with 
freedom  of  action  from  her  earliest  youth,  has  developed 
into  an  individual  of  marked  intelligence  and  strong  char- 
acter. The  women  are  the  traders  of  the  country;  with 
them  large  contracts  are  often  made  by  government  offi- 
cials. They  keep  the  stalls  in  the  bazaars,  and  they  aid  their 
husbands  in  the  sale  of  the  paddy  harvests.  Denied  edu- 
cation in  the  past,  Burmese  girls  are  now  beginning  to 
avail  themselves  eagerly  of  the  government  schools  for 
women  established  by  the  English.'" 

5.  Hindu  Children.  —  Patience  is  the  one  word  which 
especially  applies  to  the  poorer  children  of  India.  From 
the  days  when,  as  babies,  they  lie  alone  for  hours,  tor- 
mented by  flies  and  mosquitoes,  but  apparently  contented 
in  contemplating  their  dusky  hands,  until,  prematurely  old, 
they  reach  adolescence,  they  endure  all  sorts  of  hardness 
with  scarcely  a  w^ord  of  complaint.  They  are  timid  and 
usually  respectful  to  their  elders.  The  play  instinct  is  not 
so  fully  developed  in  them  as  it  is  in  the  Occident.  As 
for  intellectual  qualities,  children  learn  rapidly  if  the 
memory  only  is  called   into  play.     When  the   reasoning 

'  Murdoch.    Indian    lifissiotiary   Manual,   pp.    91,    93, 
*  India,  Ceylon,  etc.,  pp.   264,  26s, 


96  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

powers  are  involved,  the  children  of  the  higher  castes  are 
naturally  superior  to  those  who  receive  no  intellectual 
heritage  from  scholarly  ancestors ;  hence  the  lowest  castes 
are  not  so  hopeful  from  the  intellectual  viewpoint  as  are 
the  Brahmans. 

6.  Caste  —  Its  Degeneracy.  —  The  preceding  chapter 
has  suggested  the  historical  origin  of  the  social  distinction 
known  to  the  West  by  the  Portuguese  term,  casta,  or  caste, 
and  to  the  Hindus  as  jati,  meaning  race  or  class,  or  else 
as  varna,  color.  The  four  clearly  defined  castes  found  in 
the  Laws  of  Manu,  namely,  the  Brahmans,  Kshattriyas, 
Vaisyas,  and  Sudras,  are  now  not  so  distinct,  and  instead 
of  four  castes  their  number  is  legion.  The  Brahmans 
come  nearest  to  being  an  exception  to  the  rule,  —  though 
even  they  are  subdivided  into  nearly  2,000  classes,  —  and 
so  probably  are  the  Rajputs,  who  claim  to  be  the  lineal 
descendants  of  the  Kshattriyas.  As  for  the  Vaisyas  and 
Sudras,  they  are  endlessly  subdivided  and  the  early  dis- 
tinctions have  ceased  to  exist.  The  successors  of  the 
ancient  Sudras  are  the  most  numerous  by  far,  and  when 
added  to  the  Pariahs  or  outcastes,  they  represent  about 
nine-tenths  of  the  population. 

Definition  and  Rationale.  —  Indian  caste  of  to-day  is  a 
hereditary  institution  that  is  at  once  social,  industrial,  re- 
ligious, and,  to  some  extent,  racial  in  character.  In  the 
religious  sense  it  would  more  properly  be  considered  in 
the  following  chapter.  The  native  view  of  caste  is  well  set 
forth  by  Dr.  Duff.  "  The  great  family  of  man,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  Hindus,  is  made  up  of  different  genera  and  spe- 
cies, each  as  essentially  distinct  from  the  rest  as  one  genus 
or  species  of  birds,  beasts,  or  fishes  is  from  one  another. 
.  .  .  However  closely  different  birds,  beasts,  and 
fishes  may  resemble  each  other  in  outward  appearance  and 
general  characteristics,  each  kind  will  keep  itself  distinct 
by  its  food,  its  habits,  and  its  sympathies;  will  associate 
and  congenialize  with  those  of  its  own  kind,  in  preference 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  97 

and  to  the  exclusion  of  others.  It  would  be  monstrous  if 
the  members  of  one  genus  would  cease  to  resemble  and 
unite  with  the  members  of  its  own  genus  and  mix  with  and 
adopt  the  distinguishing  marks  and  habits  of  another.  It 
would  be  strange  indeed  were  the  lion  to  graze  like  an 
ox,  or  the  ox  to  slay  its  prey  like  the  lion.  The  special 
capabilities  also  of  service  to  be  derived  from  any  particu- 
lar genus  or  species  of  animals  cannot  be  transferred  to 
another.  A  sheep  or  an  ox,  for  example,  cannot  be  made 
to  answer  the  same  purpose  as  a  horse.  It  would  be  un- 
natural to  expect  that  an  ox  should  carry  a  rider  as  swiftly 
as  a  horse  can,  and  wrong  to  make  the  attempt  to  train 
him  for  the  race-course. 

Essential  Factors.  — ''  Ideas  somewhat  akin  to  these 
seem  to  form  the  groundwork  in  the  Hindu  mind  of  the 
prevalent  notions  of  caste,  and  may  help  to  account  for  the 
fact  that  the  points  considered  most  essential  in  caste  are 
food  and  its  preparation,  intermarriage  within  the  same 
caste  only,  hereditary  occupation,  and  a  peculiar  sympathy 
with  the  whole  caste,  which,  taking  the  form  of  initiative- 
ness,  leads  an  individual  Hindu  to  follow  the  example  of 
his  caste,  just  as  a  sheep  or  a  wild  pigeon  follows  the 
example  of  the  flock.  These  ideas  also  may  so  far  explain 
the  ground  of  the  local  variations  observable  in  the  cus- 
tom and  usages  of  the  same  caste.  In  one  place  a  Hindu 
will  consent  to  do  what  in  another  he  would  peremptorily 
refuse  to  do,  simply  because  in  the  former  he  is  counte- 
nanced by  the  example  of  his  brethren,  and  not  in  the 
latter;  just  as  a  flock  of  sheep  or  pigeons  may,  from  acci- 
dental causes,  somewhat  vary  its  habits  or  movements  in 
different  localities."^ 

Its  Advantages.  —  There  are  undoubtedly  benefits  con- 
nected with  caste.  Missionaries  have  noted  its  value  in 
the  matter  of  securing  the  economic  advantages  of  divi- 
sion of  labor  and  the  protection  coming  from  the  larger 

^  Duff,  Letters  on  the  Indian  Rebellion,  pp.   324-326. 


9S  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    UPFOKTUNITY 

caste  family.  It  promotes  to  some  extent  cleanliness  and 
is  a  moral  restraint  in  certain  directions.  It  has  also 
proven  its  value  to  the  British  Government  from  a  poli- 
tical and  police  point  of  view;  it  has  kept  alive  a  learned 
class  which  might  otherwise  have  been  blotted  out  of 
existence.  To  the  higher  classes  it  has  been  a  temperance 
clement  of  great  value  in  that  it  forbids  the  use  of  liquor. 
Caste  has  made  the  Hindus  content  with  their  lot,  and  the 
system  has  always  upheld  a  certain  standard  of  morals 
by  its  exaction  of  obedience. 

Its  Evils.  —  The  evils  of  caste  are  endured  without  pro- 
test, except  among  the  more  enlightened.  Indeed  some 
of  the  greatest  sticklers  for  the  institution  are  found 
among  the  very  lowest,  even  the  outcastcs.  Some  of 
the  evils  of  the  system  in  society  and  in  the  church  are 
set  forth  in  Canon  Churton's  paper  on  the  subject.  "  Bish- 
op Ileber  called  it  '  an  isthmus  cast  up  between  Christ  and 
Belial,  a  bridge  left  standing  for  a  retreat  to  paganism,  a 
citadel  kept  erect  within  the  Christian  enclosure  for  the 
great  adversary's  occupation:  this  is  what  the  Gospel  can- 
not tolerate.'  Bishop  Spencer  said :  '  Idolatry  and  super- 
stition are  like  the  stones  and  brick  of  a  large  fabric,  and 
caste  is  the  cement.  Let  us  undermine  the  common  found- 
ation, and  both  wnll  tumble  at  once.'  The  keen  discern- 
ment of  Bishop  Milman  perceived  at  once  that  caste  was 
the  sinister  influence  that  blighted  the  mission  to  the 
Santhals  in  Krishnagur.  .  .  .  The  Indian  reformers,  dif- 
fering in  many  ways,  arc  of  one  mind  in  denouncing  caste 
as  the  great  hindrance  to  progress  and  social  and  physical 
improvement.  Babu*  Nagarkar.  of  Bombay  at  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Religions,  maintained  that  '  the  abolition  of  caste 
is  the  first  item  of  the  program  of  social  reform  in  India. 
Caste,'  he  said.  '  has  divided  society  into  innumerable 
cliques,  and  killed  healthy  enterprise.  It  is  an  unmiti- 
gated   evil,    and    the    veriest    social    and    national    curse. 

^  He  is  simply  Mr.  and  not  Babn, 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  99 

All   uur   domestic   degradation    is   due   to   this   pernicious 
system."" 

Relation  to  Missions.  —  For  the  missionary,  though  the 
system  is  indeed  a  most  perplexing  problem,  it  brings 
with  it  an  element  of  hope,  as  Arthur  has  well  shown. 
"  Each  family  and  each  caste  is  impacted  in  itself,  and 
concreted  with  all  the  others,  each  person  forming  but  a 
particle  of  the  mass.  A  man's  mind  consists  of  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  ancients,  the  usages  of  his  caste,  and  the 
dogmas  of  his  sect;  independent  principles,  independent 
convictions,  independent  habits,  he  has  none.  You  cannot 
move  him  without  disintegrating  the  mass.  It  is  no 
light  work.  A  Hindu  mind  is  not  dissevered  from  the 
system  but  by  the  application  of  vast  forces.  Slowly  and 
painfully  it  disengages  itself;  it  halts  and  heaves  and 
writhes  before  finally  parting — and  many  treat  this  as 
an  obstacle  to  the  spread  of  Christianity  in  India.  Is  it 
so?  Most  indubitably,  if  the  object  of  Christianity  be  to 
gain  in  a  few  years  a  given  number  of  converts.  But  if 
her  object  be  to  pervade  all  the  regions  of  Hindustan,  then 
the  social  bonds,  which  at  first  retard  individual  conver- 
sions, so  far  from  being  obstacles  to  a  universal  revolu- 
tion, are  but  agencies  which  infallibly  conduct  to  the 
remotest  depths  of  the  country  the  impression,  made  by 
the  missionary  at  the  surface.  .  .  .  Where  the  population 
is  limited  and  the  relations  of  society  are  loose,  it  is, 
humanly  speaking,  comparatively  easy  to  convert  a  man  to 
Christianity.  This  conversion  is  of  unspeakable  import- 
ance ;  it  saves  a  soul  from  death.  But  what  relation  has 
this  event  to  the  stability  of  Satan's  em.pire  in  the  conti- 
nents that  contain  more  than  half  the  human  family? 
Scarcely  any.  A  jewel  has  been  snatched  from  destruction, 
but  no  stone  struck  from  the  foundation  of  the  citadel  of 
evil.     Xot  so  with  the  conversion  of  one  forming  part  of 

^  Official  Report  of  the  Missionary  Conference  of  the  Anglican  Com' 
tnunion   of  iS^4,  p.    198. 


100  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

a  system  which  embraces  a  continent.  His  escape  rendr 
a  hnk  in  a  chain  whereby  millions  upon  millions  wer 
bound.  ...  In  no  country  will  individual  conversion,  ii 
a  given  locality,  be  slower  at  first  than  in  India;  in  n( 
country  will  the  abruption  of  masses  from  the  '  greai 
mountain '  be  so  vast  or  so  rapidly  successive.''^ 

7.  Occupations.  —  The  callings  most  widely  represented 
in  India  at  the  time  of  the  last  census  are  as  follows,  the 
numerals  and  decimals  indicating  the  number  of  milHons 
of  people  who  are  engaged  in  or  depend  upon  the  various 
occupations:  Leather,  horns,  boxes,  etc.,  3.2;  transport 
and  storage,  3.5;  metals  and  precious  stones,  3.7;  wood, 
cane,  and  matting,  3.8;  state  and  local  administration,  3.8; 
provision  and  care  of  cattle,  3.9;  commerce,  4.2;  learned 
and  artistic  professions,  4.9;  independent  means,  5;  per- 
sonal, household,  and  sanitary  services,  10.7;  textile  fabrics 
and  dress,  11.2;  food,  drink,  and  stimulants,  16.7;  earth 
work  and  general  labor,  17.9;  agriculture,  191.7.*  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  about  sixty-five  per  cent,  of  the  popu- 
lation is  dependent  on  agriculture,  while  only  one  person 
in  sixty  belongs  to  the  learned  or  artistic  professions,  and 
but  few  more  possess  independent  means.  Of  these  call- 
ings, agriculture  and  the  allied  trades  are  the  only  ones 
held  in  esteem.  "  The  emblem  of  honor  is  the  plow, 
which  the  peasant  proudly  scrawls  as  his  sign-manual 
whenever  he  has  to  enter  into  any  written  transaction."" 

8.  Village  System.  —  India's  village  system  is  some- 
what unique  and  very  interesting.  In  the  form  which  it 
assumes  throughout  most  of  India,  it  is  a  microcosm,  as 
complete  in  itself  and  as  independent  of  outside  support 
as  is  possible.  The  nucleus  is  the  peasantry,  at  the  head 
of  which  stand  the  families  descended  from  the  traditional 
first  settlers.    The  peasants  usually  enjoy  a  fixed  tenure, 

*  Arthur,   Missions  to  the  Mysore,   pp.    313-315. 
'Statesman's   Y ear-Book,   igos,   p.   xlvi. 
*India^   Ceylon,   etc.,   p.    25. 


7^ 

'^ 

*^H 

JU 

^k9 

C^^^^lft         T* "  ^k 

mSf 

^*^W! 

j^pf-tr-  -••'  ^^ti-.-'lf^^^-    .'    . 

Young  Brahman  and  His  Wife 


Yogi,  with  Mark  of  His  God  on  His  Forehead 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  lOl 

subject  to  an  annual  rent  charge  paid  to  the  State.  The 
whole  country  is  thus  under  small  holders  having  a  here- 
ditary interest  in  the  land.  The  rest  of  the  community 
group  themselves  about  the  landed  classes,  to  whom  they 
minister,  being  remunerated  by  a  share  in  the  arable  land 
of  the  village,  or  else  by  receiving  a  proportion  of  the 
harvest  of  each  landowner.  Cash  only  occasionally  enters 
into  the  matter.  Artisans  of  a  village  rarely  work  for 
a  wider  market  than  their  own  community,  being  content 
with  the  patronage  of  their  own  friends. 

Villagers  —  The  Headman.  —  The  influential  members 
of  this  miniature  world  are  few,  but  they  are  an  import- 
ant factor  in  the  missionary  situation  oftentimes,  and 
always  are  worth  considering.  Monier- Williams  graphi- 
cally describes  these  dignitaries.^  At  the  apex  is  the 
headman  or  president,  who  is  frequently  illiterate.  He  is 
paid  from  a  fixed  proportion  of  the  land  and  exercises 
the  functions  of  a  civic  magistrate,  somewhat  as  does  the 
mayor  of  a  Western  town.  "  He  is  the  chairman  of  the 
village  or  town  council,  called  a  panchayat,  which  often 
holds  its  sittings  under  a  large  tree.  He  decides  dispute^ 
apportions  the  labor  and  the  amount  of  produce  which 
each  laborer  is  to  receive  as  remuneration,  and  is  respon- 
sible for  the  annual  proportion  due  to  the  Government." 

The  Accountant.  —  Next  comes  the  accountant,  or 
notary,  who  is  often  a  Brahman  and  who  transacts  the  vil- 
lage business,  keeps  the  land  accounts,  and  attends  to  the 
rents  and  assessments. 

Village  Priest.  —  The  village  priest  is  a  Brahman  and  is 
in  many  respects  superior  to  the  headman  and  the  account- 
ant. He  officiates  at  weddings  and  other  important  fam- 
ily ceremonies  and  is  always  to  be  revered.  "  His  anger  is 
as  terrible  as  that  of  the  gods.  His  blessing  makes  rich ; 
his  curse  withers.  Nay,  more,  he  is  actually  worshiped  as 
a  god.  No  marvel,  no  prodigy  in  nature  is  believed  to  be 
*  Monier-Williams,  Brahmanism  and  Hinduism,  pp.  456-462. 


t02  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY^ 

beyond  the  limits  of  his  power  to  accompHsh.  If  the  priest 
were  to  threaten  to  bring  down  the  sun  from  the  sky,  or  to 
arrest  its  daily  course  in  the  heavens,  no  villager  would  for 
a  moment  doubt  his  ability  to  do  so.  .  .  .  The  priest  con- 
fers incalculable  benefits  upon  the  community  of  which  he 
is  a  member  by  merely  receiving  their  presents,  A  cow 
given  to  him  secures  heaven  of  a  certainty  to  the  lucky 
donor.  The  consequences  of  injuring  him  are  terrific.  The 
man  who  does  him  the  smallest  harm  must  make  up  his 
mind  to  be  whirled  about  after  death  for  at  least  a  century 
in  a  hell  of  total  darkness.  This  will  suffice  to  account  for 
the  respect  paid  to  the  Brahman  priest  by  the  peasants,  who 
sometimes  drink  the  water  in  which  his  feet  have  been 
washed,  by  way  of  getting  rid  of  their  sins  with  the  least 
possible  difficulty." 

The  Astrologer.  —  In  some  cases  the  priest  is  also  the 
astrologer.  As  a  chief  part  of  the  religion  of  the  people  is 
the  fear  of  the  evil  influence  of  stars  and  planets,  this  dig- 
nitary is  constantly  needed  to  determine  lucky  days  for 
reaping  and  sowing  and  to  counteract  bad  omens,  such  as 
a  sudden  sneeze,  the  chirping  of  a  lizard,  or  an  envious 
look.  "  He  can  cause  diseases  as  well  as  cure  them  and 
can  destroy  life  by  the  repetition  of  magical  texts.  He  is, 
I  fear,  the  only  physician.  The  true  art  of  healing  and 
sanitation  is  unknown." 

The  Schoolmaster.  —  Most  villages  also  have  a  school- 
master; though  here,  too,  the  priest  sometimes  combines 
with  his  own  this  important  office.  A  widespreading  tree 
or  convenient  shed  furnishes  a  schoolroom  where  the 
alphabet  may  be  scratched  on  leaves  or  on  the  dust  of  the 
ground.  Deafening  screams  prove  that  his  hopeful 
charges  have  mastered  the  multiplication  table  and  the 
other  rudiments  of  knowledge.  Failure  to  satisfy  this 
pedagogue  may  result  in  punishment,  such  as  the  culprit's 
standing  on  one  fopt  for  half  an  hour  or  his  hanging  for 
a  few  minutes  with  his  head  downward  from  the  limb  of 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  I03 

a  nearby  tree.  If  two  boys  arc  involved,  the  penalty  may 
be  to  knock  their  heads  together  several  times. 

Artisans.  —  A  number  of  other  men  are  essential  to  the 
happiness  of  the  dweller  in  this  microcosm.  The  barber 
is  a  religious  necessity,  as  shaving  is  required  by  the  Hin- 
du's faith.  He  also  serves  as  a  manicure  and  massagist 
and  will  crack  the  joints  of  a  customer  in  a  way  to  delight 
the  most  fastidious.  Then  there  is  the  blacksmith  with  his 
hammer,  tongs,  file,  and  bellows,  and  his  stone  anvil.  Sit- 
ting on  his  hams  he  deftly  fashions  hoop-iron  into  bill- 
hooks, nails,  and  plow  ferrules.  The  weaver  is  famous 
abroad  as  well  as  at  home;  for  India  was  probably  the  first 
land  to  perfect  weaving,  and  it  is  from  that  country  that 
we  get  the  word  calico,  i.  e.,  Calicut  goods,  and  chintz,  the 
Sanskrit  for  variegated.  The  shoemaker,  too,  will  turn 
out  a  respectable  pair  of  shoes,  given  time  and  advanced 
pay  in  order  to  buy  a  side  of  leather,  and  fashion  from  it 
the  article  desired  with  his  rough  last,  knife  and  awl.  The 
potter,  albeit  making  little  that  can  be  classed  among 
ceramics,  is  most  useful  in  fabricating  the  rough  domestic 
ware,  which  may  be  used  only  once  and  then  shattered, 
and  from  that  up  to  the  earthenware  floats  used  to  ferry 
people  across  a  swollen  stream.  In  different  spheres  two 
other  men  are  most  useful  to  the  community,  the  gold- 
smith, who  converts  into  articles  of  adornment  —  and  thus 
into  a  convenient  form  of  treasure  easily  guarded  from 
theft  —  the  precious  and  baser  metals,  and  the  lowest  of 
the  village  corps,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  useful,  the 
serf  or  menial.  He  goes  by  many  names ;  but  a  common 
one,  coolie,  indicates  by  its  original  meaning  —  a  day's 
wage  —  the  fact  that  he  labors  by  the  day.  In  the  city 
he  is  a  most  useful  man  of  all  work,  a  scavenger,  etc.  In 
the  country  he  adds  to  these  duties  that  of  farm  laborer. 

The  Farmers.  —  The  life  of  the  majority  of  India's  in- 
habitants, the  nearly  192,000,000  farmers,  is  graphically 
described  in  the  writings  of  a  native,  who  is  speaking  of 


104  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

the  Rcddis,  a  sub-division  of  the  Sudras,  who  may  be 
regarded  as  the  representative  husbandman  of  South 
India.  "  As  is  the  case  with  all  those  who  have  to  work, 
and  work  pretty  hard  with  their  hands  for  their  daily 
bread,  the  Reddi  is  a  very  early  riser.  After  partaking  of 
a  good  quantity  of  cold  —  or  rather,  decomposing  —  rice 
gruel,  well  mixed  with  soured  buttermilk,  and  with  a  few 
green  chillies  for  a  reHsh,  the  Reddi  will  set  out,  plow  on 
shoulder  and  staff  in  hand,  to  the  fields  at  a  distance, 
returning  home  late  in  the  evening.  The  women  and 
children,  or  at  least  such  of  them  as  are  either  not  old 
enough  or  strong  enough  for  outdoor  labor,  will  stay  at 
home,  attending  to  cooking,  fetching  water,  sweeping,  and 
other  similar  household  occupations,  or  will  work  afthe 
spindle,  turning  out  no  small  quantity  of  yarn,  which  is 
either  sold,  or  given  to  the  village  weaver  to  be  turned 
into  clothes  for  the  use  of  the  family.  Some  of  the  women, 
too,  go  to  the  nearest  market-town,  weekly  or  oftener,  to 
dispose  of  what  home-produce  they  may  have  in  the  shape 
of  vegetables,  milk,  curds,  or  ghee,  returning  home  laden 
with  such  articles  of  household  consumption  as  are  not 
procurable  in  their  own  village. 

Their  Meals.  —  "  The  most  serious  part  of  the  day's  busi- 
ness in  a  family  such  as  that  we  are  describing,  is  the 
cooking  of  the  mid-day  meal.  A  good  portion  of  the  food 
then  prepared  is  at  once  taken  to  those  members  of  the 
family  working  out  of  doors,  carried  in  a  basket  on  the 
head,  or  just  as  often  in  pots  slung  to  a  pole  that  is  car- 
ried on  the  shoulders.  After  eating  follows  the  traditional 
siesta,  in  which  even  outdoor  laborers  indulge;  and,  after 
awaking  therefrom,  there  will  be  the  usual  routine  of  do- 
mestic duties  gone  through,  terminating  with  the  prepara- 
tion of  supper.  In  the  midst  of  her  culinary  operations, 
the  Reddi's  wife  will  rise  to  perform  what  is  perhaps  the 
only  act  approaching  to  worship  in  a  homestead  such  as 
hers,  namely,  the  lighting  of  the  lamps.     Washing  her 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  IO5 

Iiaiids,  face,  and  feet,  and  smoothing  her  hair,  she  will 
light  a  wick,  put  it  in  a  Httle  saucer  of  oil,  and  prostrate 
herself  before  it  with  arms  outstretched  and  the  hands 
joined  together  in  the  well-known  Hindu  attitude  of  wor- 
ship, calling  the  while  on  the  names  of  the  family  or  vil- 
lage deity,  or  just  as  often  on  the  goddess  Lakshmi,  the 
source  of  all  temporal  welfare.  Anon  the  evening  meal  is 
ready,  and  those  at  home  anxiously  await  the  return  of 
those  who  are  still  outside.  When  the  latter  approach  the 
house,  they  are  presented  with  a  vessel  of  water  to  wash 
their  feet,  washing  away  thereby,  as  it  were,  all  evil  that 
they  may  have  brought  with  them  from  without,  before 
entering  the  house. 

Evenings.  — "  After  supper,  betel-nut  will  be  chewed 
and  tobacco  smoked,  and  one  by  one  the  several  members 
of  the  Reddi  family  will  go  to  sleep,  thus  bringing  to  an 
end  one  of  the  usual  uneventful  days  of  their  ordinary 
existence.'" 

Importance  of  the  Village.  —  It  is  such  communities  as 
these,  in  which  the  vast  majority  of  India's  inhabitants 
live  and  where  most  of  the  missionary  work  is  to  be  done, 
of  which  Elphinstone  writes :  "  This  union  of  the  village 
community,  each  one  forming  a  separate  little  state  in 
itself,  has,  I  conceive,  contributed  more  than  any  other 
cause  to  the  preservation  of  the  people  of  India  through  all 
the  revolutions  and  changes  which  they  have  suffered,  and 
is  in  a  high  degree  conducive  to  their  happiness  and  to 
the  enjoyment  of  a  great  portion  of  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence.'" 

Industrial  Conditions.  —  Wages  are  very  low,  averaging 
for  the  laborer  four  cents  a  day  and  for  the  artisan  fifteen 
cents.  Consequently  poverty  is  omnipresent,  so  that  Sir 
William  Hunter  could  say  that  forty  millions  go  through 

1  Pen  and  Ink  Pictures  of  Native  Indian  Life,  by  a  Hindu.  Madras 
Times,  1879. 

'  Rowe,  Every-Day  Life  in  India,  p.    158. 


J06  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OVPORTUNITV 

life  with  too  little  food,  while  Sir  Charles  Elliot  of  Assam 
wrote,  "  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  half  of  our  agricul- 
tural population  never  know  from  year's  end  to  year's 
end  what  it  is  to  have  their  hunger  satisfied."  Combina- 
tions in  the  interest  of  labor  are  common.  Caste  is  in 
itself  a  trade-guild  and  a  mutual  assurance  society.  In 
the  former  capacity  it  insists  on  the  proper  training  of  tlie 
youth  of  its  craft,  regulates  wages,  deals  with  trade  delin- 
quents, supplies  courts  of  arbitration,  and  promotes  fellow- 
ship by  social  gatherings.  In  those  sections  w^here  each 
trade  forms  a  guild  irrespective  of  caste  lines,  it  aims  to 
regulate  competition  among  its  members  and  uphold  its  own 
trade  interests  as  against  the  disputes  with  other  crafts- 
men. Its  use  of  guild  and  assurance  funds  unites  with 
caste  to  supply  the  place  of  a  poor-law. 

9.  Amusements.  —  The  amusements  of  the  Hindus  do  not 
assume  any  prominent  place  in  their  life,  unless  religious 
festivals  are  regarded  in  this  light.  Those  not  requiring 
physical  exertion  are  appreciated  next  to  those  that  con- 
tribute to  the  Hindu  ideal  embodied  in  the  widely  used 
word  tamasha,  meaning  show,  display,  pomp,  and  implying 
noise  and  a  crowd.  Wrestling,  acrobatic  performances, 
jugglery,  fireworks,  chess,  nautch-dancing,  and  songs  and 
stories  form  the  staple  among  the  adults.  Children  indulge 
in  Hindu  variations  of  marbles,  pussy  in  the  corner,  blind 
man's  buff,  hide  and  seek,  odd  or  even,  etc. 

V.    The  Government  of  India 

I,  British  Control — In  the  matter  of  government, 
"  India,  in  its  widest  sense,  includes  British  India  and  the 
Native  States;  the  former  is  under  the  direct  control  in 
all  respects  of  British  officials.  The  control  which  the 
Supreme  Government  exercises  over  the  Native  States 
varies  in  degree,  but  they  are  all  governed  by  the  native 
princes,  ministers  or  councils,  with  the  help  and  under  the 


RACES  AND  THE  COMMON  LIFE  I07 

advice  of  a  resident,  or  agent,  in  political  charge  either  of 
a  single  State  or  a  group  of  States.  The  chiefs  have  no 
right  to  make  war  or  peace,  or  to  send  ambassadors  to  each 
other  or  to  external  States;  they  are  not  permitted  to 
maintain  a  military  force  above  a  certain  specified  limit; 
no  European  is  allowed  to  reside  at  any  of  their  courts 
without  special  sanction ;  and  the  Supreme  Government  can 
exercise  the  right  of  deposing  a  chief  in  case  of  misgov- 
ernment.  Within  these  limits  the  more  important  chiefs 
possess  sovereign  authority  in  their  own  territories.  Some 
of  them  are  required  to  pay  an  annual  tribute ;  with  others 
this  is  nominal,  or  not  demanded.'" 

2.  Evils.  —  Kipling  has  familiarized  the  reading  public 
with  the  life  of  Indian  officialdom,  but  he  has  not  made 
clear  enough  the  burden  of  most  missionaries'  lives,  who 
have  groaned  beneath  the  weight  of  their  convert's  liti- 
giousness,  or  shared  the  sorrows  of  others  who  have  un- 
willingly been  brought  before  the  courts.  As  testimony 
can  be  had  for  any  untruth,  and  as  fees  and  bribes  must 
be  freely  given  to  underlings,  the  cause  of  justice  often 
fails,  and  petty  spite  or  greed  unlawfully  wins  the  case. 
These  evils  are  not  due  to  the  theory  of  English  courts, 
but  rather  to  the  character  of  the  people,  who  shamelessly 
perjure  themselves  in  any  case  not  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  native  panchayet.  The  evil  most  open  to  rational 
complaint  is  thus  described  by  a  native  lecturer  on  the  sub- 
ject, Mr.  R.  Dutt :  *'  The  people  of  an  entire  district  or 
sub-division  of  a  district  look  up  to  the  district  officer  or 
to  his  police  for  decision  in  the  triflingest  matters;  and 
all  local  authority  which  village  elders  and  village  panch- 
ayets  enjoyed  of  old  has  been  swept  away  under  a  sys- 
tem of  administration  far  too  minute  and  centralized.  One 
of  the  evils  of  this  system  is  that  the  officials  are  not  in 
touch  with  the  people ;  they  recognize  no  constituted  lead- 
ers and  heads  of  the  people;  they  deal  with  the  people 

'  Statfstnan's  Year-Bcok,  igos,  p.   133. 


I08  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

through  the  worst  ot  all  possible  channels,  the  police.  .  .  . 
In  the  pettiest  disputes  the  villagers  go  up  to  the  magis- 
trate or  the  police  for  settlement;  the  autonomy  of  Indian 
village  communities,  which  outlived  centuries  of  rule 
under  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  kings,  is  virtually  gone; 
and  the  agricultural  population  now  rush  to  law  courts  and 
impoverish  themselves.  Litigation  is  demoralizing;  thou- 
sands of  simple  and  truthful  agriculturists  are  tutored  in 
falsehood  in  order  that  they  may  be  effective  witnesses; 
and  the  nation  is  judged  by  the  falsehood  uttered  in 
courts."^ 

^  India,  Ceylon,  etc.,  pp.  316,  317. 


IV 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY 

Chapter  II.  contains  an  account  of  the  development  of 
India's  religions,  from  the  comparatively  pure  adoration 
and  worship  of  the  great  powers  of  nature,  through  the 
period  of  religious  philosophizing  and  the  reforms  of 
Buddha,  down  to  the  present-day  degradation  of  religion 
and  the  attempted  restoration  of  its  pristine  glory.  What 
is  here  written  presupposes  a  knowledge  of  that  chapter 
and  is  a  brief  presentation  of  the  religious  life  of  India  at 
the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century. 


I.   The  Census  of  1901 

I.    Statistics.  —  According  to  the  last  census  the  reli- 
gions of  the  Empire  are  as  follows:' 


Jews      .     .     . 

18,228 

Animists    .     ,     . 

8,584,349 

Parsees      .     . 

94,190 

Buddhists .     .     . 

9*476,750 

Jains     .     .     . 

1,334,148 

Mohammedans 

62,458,061 

Sikhs     .     .     . 

2,195,268 

Hindus       .     . 

207,146,422 

Christians 

2,923,241 

Others  .     .     . 

2,686 

2.  Distribution.  —  The  provinces  containing  most  of  the 
Jews  are  Bombay,  —  which  is  the  habitat  of  more  than 
three- fourths  of  them,  —  Bengal,  and  Madras.  Bombay  is 
likewise  the  home  of  almost  eighty-four  per  cent,  of 
India's  Parsees,  making  it  the  greatest  stronghold  of  that 
faith  in  the  world.    Nearly  half  of  the  Jains  are  also  found 

*  Statesman's  Year-Book,  190^,  p.   141. 
109 


110  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITV 

in  Bombay,  while  Central  India,  and  Rajputana  especially, 
contain  most  of  the  remainder.  The  Sikhs  are  almost 
wholly  found  in  their  early  hsme  in  the  Punjab.  Catholic 
and  Protestant  Christians,  are  fairly  well  distributed  over 
the  Empire;  though  if  a  line  were  drawn  due  west  from 
Calcutta  about  four-fifths  of  them  would  be  found  south  of 
it,  two-thirds  of  the  entire  Christian  population  being  in  the 
single  province  of  Madras.  Bengal,  Bombay,  and  Burma 
are  the  provinces  coming  next  in  the  number  of  resident 
Christians.  Holders  of  animistic  beliefs  are  most  numerous 
in  Assam,  the  Central  Provinces,  and  Bengal,  with  a  goodly 
number  in  Burma,  Madras,  and  Central  India.  The  Bud- 
dhists have  been  driven  out  of  their  original  home  and  are 
now  almost  wholly  confined  to  Burma  and  the  rim  of 
adjacent  Bengal,  though  Kashmir,  bordering  on  Tibet,  also 
has  some  35,000.  Mohammedanism  is  strongest  in  North 
India,  Bengal  being  the  home  of  more  than  twenty-five  mil- 
lions of  Moslems,  and  the  Punjab  standing  next  in  order. 
Madras  and  Haidarabad  are  the  two  southern  provinces 
having  the  largest  number  of  Moslems.  Of  all  religionists 
the  Hindus  are  by  far  the  most  ubiquitous,  abounding  in 
all  sections  except  Burma,  Baluchistan,  and  Kashmir, 
where  either  Buddhism  or  Mohammedanism  is  so  prev- 
alent. Madras,  the  United  Provinces,  and  Bengal  have 
the  largest  number  of  Hindus.' 

II.    India's  Minor  Faiths 

While  with  the  exception  of  animism  all  the  religions 
noted  under  this  head  are  of  a  higher  order  than  popular 
Hinduism,  they  may  be  summarily  treated  as  affecting  but 
few  in  the  entire  mass  of  the  population,  and  hence  they 
may  be  regarded  as  of  minor  importance. 

I.    Judaism.  —  The    Jews    have    been    in    India    from 

'  For  a  more  particular  statement  of  the  distribution  of  India'3  re- 
Hgions,  sec  sketch  map. 


,  4 

^NORTH-f 

(FRONTIER 
'PROVIJisCE. 

/Hmdut 

Moslems  lypi 
JCtiristians  A 


KASHMIR 
2,906 

Mmdus      6S9 
S>KN3     26 
Join*   .4 
Buddhiita    JJ 
MoEl»m»     2.1^5 
Christian,    .4 


PUNJAB 

«4.755 
idu*    lOJ-J^  Parsis 


SiKtM    2.10) 
Jaini    50 
BuoldSlsts  7 


Moslems    la.tSJ 
Christiana    fc7 


BOMBAY 

indui  ir9i9 
,SiKh>    2. 
JaiP3    55«) 
Buddhi&ts   .3 
Parsis    79 
Moslems    1601 
Christians     220 
Jews    K 
Animistic    95 


Hindus 
SiKhs    Z 
Jains   5-tJ 
Pars.s    .5 
Moslems  92-5 
Christians    3 
\Animistic  ?6I 


RAJPUTANA 
5,090 


UNITED 
PROVINCES 


.316 


Hindus  ,41 
SiKhs    I5 
Jains    Z5 
Buddhists   .1 
Parsis  .6 
Moslems  6,974 
Christians   103 


CENi 
fc,933 


<L   INDIA 


BOMBAY 


sBARODA'^ 
1.935, 


Hindus'  I.J47 
Jains    45 
Parsis    8 
Moslems  Ib5 
Christians   5 
Animistit   17b 


'Hi 

SiKhs  1 
'Jains  115     Moskms  5^9 
I  Parsis  1      Christians^ 

Animistic  99i, 

CENTRAL  PROVINCES 

\I.B75 
Hindus  9.746      Parsis    I 
Sikhs  .6  Moslems  }0' 

Jains   4!  Christians  ii 

Suddhists  .Z      Jews. I       / 
Anixnistic  1,74J         C 


HAIDARABAD 

T,I4I 


BOMBAY  <  M 


Hindus    9,?T1 
SiKhs    4 
Jains   2.0 
Parsis  1 

oslemA  I.IS6 
Christians  t) 
Animistic   6> 


MADRAS 

42.,395 
Hindus  }7,0i6 

SiKhs  .1 


MYSORE 


ist 


160 


Hindus 
Jains    . 
Moslems   l4 
Christians   4 
Animistic    > 


irsisj 
AnimiiticJ? 


Parsis  A 

Moslems  a,753 

Christians  l,9i4- 

Jews   I 

Animistic  674 


SKE 

Showing    Political 


-SIKKIM 


BENGAL 
75,495 

(induj   49691      Parsis   .4 
,iKh3  .)  Moslems  ^H9^ 

lains    X  Christians    t75 

Juddhistj  Z}1    Jews  Z 
Animistic    a.730 


ASSAM 

Hindu*  5,4-29  Bo<idhists  9 
'  SiKhs  ,5         Moslems  1,511 
>ins25   Christians  Jb 
iimistic  low  , 


:? 


BURMA 

io.>65 

Hindus  ayj 

SiKhi    7 
Buddhists  9.1S4 
Parsis    .?. 
Moslems  339 
Christians    l-tJ 
Jews   .7 
Animistic  399 


ANDAMANS 


a5 

Hindus   9 
SiKhs  .4- 
Buddhists    2, 
Moslems   4- 
Christians    .) 
Animistic  8 


rl  MAP  OF  INDIA 

tions  and  Populationa  and  Rel!j|{iort» 

pressed    .n    thouiondlj 


I 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TODAY  I  1  I 

remote  times,  apparently  from  the  first  or  second  Chris- 
tian century.  "  The  Buddhist  polity,  then  supreme  in 
Southern  India,  was  favorable  to  the  reception  of  a  faith 
whose  moral  characteristics  were  humanity  and  self-sacri- 
fice."^ Hence  it  was  strong  for  a  time,  and  then  lost  its 
place  to  early  Christianity,  whose  forerunner  it  had  been. 
At  present  the  cities  of  Bombay  and  Poona  are  the  chief 
centers,  though  the  Black  and  White  Jews  of  Cochin  are 
the  most  interesting.  "  The  Blacks  were  originally  the 
slaves  of  the  Whites,  as  is  shown  by  their  historical  docu- 
ments. It  is  not  known  when  the  Whites  came  to  India.  .  . 
The  purity  of  their  blood  and  the  remarkable  fairness  ot" 
their  complexion  indicate  that  the  settlement  has  been  from 
time  to  time  reenforced  from  northwestern  countries. 
They  are  an  exceedingly  conservative  people;  and  in  their 
two  synagogues,  they  conduct  their  worship  perhaps  more 
like  the  Jews  of  twenty  centuries  ago  than  do  any  other 
representatives  of  that  race  to-day.  The  day-school  con- 
nected with  the  White  Synagogue  closely  resembles  the 
little  school  which  our  Lord  attended  at  Nazareth.'" 

2.  The  Parsces.  —  Driven  by  Moslems  from  their  Per- 
sian home,  the  Parsees  have  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years  made  tlie  city  of  Bombay  and  its  neighborhood  their 
adopted  land.  "  Their  faith,  Zoroastrianism,  is  the  purcFt 
of  ethnic  religions.  It  has  preserved  its  ancient  integrity 
and  high  tone  much  better  than  its  sister  faith,  Brahman- 
ism.  Among  the  members  of  this  religion  are  found  men 
possessed  of  great  enterprise,  much  wealth,  the  spirit  of 
philanthropy  and  culture.  They  give  high  honor  and  posi- 
tion to  their  women,  and  in  all  matters  of  civilization  are 
considerably  in  advance  of  even  the  best  class  of  Hindus. 
.  .  .  Though  these  Parsees  have,  for  more  than  a 
millennium,  made  India  their  home,  they  have  kept  them- 
selves apart  from  the  people  of  the  land  and  are  still  as 

*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.   285. 

*  Jones,    India's   Problem,   pp.    SS.    S6- 


112  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

truly  foreign  in  the  land  of  their  adoption  as  are  the  Eng- 
lish residents.'" 

3.  The  Jains.  —  The  Jains  of  to-day  are  hardly  true  to 
their  name,  —  Jaina  means  victorious  ones,  saints  who 
have  reached  perfection  through  self-conquest  and  disci- 
pline, —  yet  they  are  superior  in  their  morality  to  the  vast 
majority  of  Hindus.  "  Being  mostly  traders,  merchants, 
or  bankers,  they  live  in  towns,  and  the  wealth  of  many  of 
their  community  gives  them  a  social  importance  greater 
than  would  result  from  their  mere  numbers.  It  is  even 
said  that  half  the  mercantile  transactions  of  India  pass 
through  their  hands.  Their  charity  is  boundless,  and  they 
form  the  chief  supporters  of  the  beast  hospitals,  which 
the  old  and  striking  animistic  tenderness  for  animals  has 
left  in  many  parts  of  India."^  In  South  India  it  should  be 
added,  the  Jains  are  almost  exclusively  engaged  in  agri- 
culture. 

Their  Temples.  — Fergusson  has  this  to  say  of  their 
larger  temples,  whose  magnificence  and  beautiful  locations 
are  so  characteristic  of  Jainism :  "  They  are  situated  in 
separate  enclosures  surrounded  by  high,  fortified  walls; 
the  smaller  ones  line  the  silent  streets.  A  few  priests 
sleep  in  the  temples  and  perform  the  daily  services,  and  a 
few  attendants  are  always  there  to  keep  the  place  clean, 
or  to  feed  the  sacred  pigeons,  who  are  the  sole  denizens  of 
the  spot;  but  there  is  no  human  habitation,  properly  so 
called,  within  the  walls.  The  pilgrim  or  the  stranger 
ascends  in  the  morning  and  returns  when  he  has  per- 
formed his  devotions,  or  satisfied  his  curiosity.  He  must 
vnot  eat,  or  at  least  must  not  cook  his  food,  on  the  sacred 
^hill,  and  he  must  not  sleep  there.  It  is  the  city  of  the  gods 
and  meant  for  them  only,  and  not  intended  for  the  use  of 
mortals.'" 

'  Jones,  India's  Prohlem,  p.  ?8. 

=  Thornton,   Parsi,  Jama   and  Sikh,   p.    40;   see   also  Hunter,  7n<f*on 
Empire,  p.  205. 

»  Fergusson,  History  of  Architecture,  \o\,  iii.,  bk.  ii.,  p.  226. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  II3 

4.  The  Sikhs.  —  The  Sikhs,  not  mentioned  in  Chapter 
II.,  are  chiefly  known  to  the  West  as  loyal  and  brave  sol- 
diers of  Britain's  Sovereign,  both  within  and  outside  India. 
Yet  originally  the  martial  bond  afterward  imiting  them 
was  wanting,  Sikh  signifying  "disciple"  merely;  and  the 
devotion  of  the  disciples  to  their  Guru,  or  divine  guide, 
Vv-as  the  main  feature  of  their  life  from  the  day  of  Nanak, 
their  founder  and  a  contemporary  of  Columbus,  to  the 
tenth  Guru,  Govind  Singh,  with  whom  the  succession 
ceased.  He  made  war  the  holy  occupation  of  all  the  initi- 
ated, so  that  less  than  a  century  ago  it  could  be  said  of 
them,  when  trained  under  European  officers,  that  the  Sikh 
army  for  steadiness  and  religious  fervor  had  not  seen  its 
equal  since  the  days  of  Cromwell's  Ironsides. 

Amritsar.  —  From  the  time  of  the  fourth  Guru,  who  pur- 
chased the  large  square  tank  at  a  place  called  from  that 
fact  Amritsar,  "  pool  of  immortality,  or  nectar,"  this  has 
been  the  holy  place  of  Sikhism.  He  also  built  in  the  midst 
of  this  tank  the  famous  Golden  Temple.  His  son,  Arjan, 
compiled  and  placed  therein  the  most  sacred  book  of  their 
religion,  the  Adi  Granth,  or  "  First  Book."  Next  to  the 
Taj  at  Agra,  the  Golden  Temple  is  the  most  famous  piece 
of  architecture  in  India;  yet  its  fame  among  Sikhs  is  due 
to  the  two  Granfhs  enclosed  within  this  beautiful  shrine. 
The  tenth  Guru,  after  adding  martial  passages  to  the 
peaceful  Adi  Granth^  left  the  two  books  as  the  perpetual 
guide  of  his  sect. 

Bibliolatry.  —  Although  the  temple  is  free  from  images, 
"  the  Granth  is  in  fact  the  real  divinity  of  the  shrine  and 
is  treated  as  if  it  had  a  veritable  personal  existence.  Every 
morning  it  is  dressed  out  in  costly  brocade  and  reverently 
placed  on  a  low  throne  under  a  jeweled  canopy,  said  to 
have  been  constructed  at  a  cost  of  50,000  rupees.  All  day 
long  chowries  are  waved  over  the  sacred  volume,  and 
every  evening  it  is  transported  to  the  second  temple  on 
the  edge  of  the  lake  opposite  the  causeway,  where  it  is 


114  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

made  to  repose  for  the  night  in  a  golden  bed  within  a  con- 
secrated chamber,  railed  off  and  protected  from  all  pro- 
fane intrusion  by  bolts  and  bars.'" 

Present  Status.  —  Though  originally  a  sort  of  compro- 
mise between  Islam  and  Hinduism,  Sikhism  has  degener- 
ated in  recent  years,  so  that  even  on  the  margin  of  its  sacred 
lake  there  is  set  up  an  image  of  Krishna.  A  large  number 
"  adopt  caste,  wear  the  Brahmanical  thread,  keep  Hindu 
festivals,  observe  Hindu  ceremonies,  and  even  present 
offerings  to  idols  in  Hindu  temples."'*  According  to  the 
census  report  of  1891,  "  the  only  trustworthy  method  of 
distinguishing  this  creed  was  to  ask  if  the  person  in  ques- 
tion repudiated  the  services  of  the  barber  and  the  tobac- 
conist; for  the  precepts  most  strictly  enforced  nowadays 
are  that  the  hair  of  the  head  and  face  must  never  be  cut, 
and  that  smoking  is  a  habit  to  be  avoided." 

5.  Buddhism.  —  Omitting  all  reference  to  Christianity 
until  later  in  the  book  and  treating  animistic  faiths  under 
Hinduism  in  its  lower  popular  acceptation,  Buddhism  is 
next  on  the  census  list.  Although  Hinduism  was  pro- 
foundly affected  by  Buddhism,  despite  its  rejection  of  the 
system  as  a  whole,  and  while  its  doctrine  of  transmigration 
is  that  so  widely  known  through  Buddhism,  and  even 
though  Buddha  is  included  in  the  Hindu  Pantheon  as  the 
ninth  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  this  great  faith  is  a  vital  issue 
only  in  Burma  and  on  the  Tibetan  borderland. 

In  Burma.  —  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  Empire  Gautama 
has  almost  undisputed  sway.  "  In  estimating  the  Bur- 
mese national  character,"  writes  Mrs.  Hart,  "  it  must  be 
always  borne  in  mind  that  the  Burmans  are  essentially 
Buddhistic.  Buddhism  in  its  purest  and  most  spiritual  form 
is  the  religion  which  influences  them  from  their  early 
youth;  it  molds  their  views  of  life,  defines  its  aims,  gives 
motive  to  endeavor,  and  reveals  the  great  hereafter.    The 

1  Monier-Williams,  Brahmanism  and  Hinduism,  p.    177- 
Mbid.,  p.    178. 


THE  RELIGIULS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAV  1  I  5 

Buddhism  of  the  Burmans  has  not  been  degraded  into  a  de- 
basing superstition,  nor  has  it  degenerated  into  an  idola- 
trous practice;  but  it  is  in  essence  an  ideal,  ethical  and 
spiritual  faith,  overladen  in  some  degree  by  Nat  worship 
and  burdened  by  the  superstition  of  pagoda  building. 

Pagoda  Building.  —  '*  Everybody  who  visits  Burma  is  at 
once  struck  by  the  enormous  number  of  pagodas  in  that 
country.  From  the  great  gold-encrusted  cupola  of  the 
Shway  Dagohn,  which  is  the  first  object  seen  on  approach- 
ing Rangoon,  to  the  9,999  pagodas  of  Pagahn,  every  form 
and  variety  of  pagoda  may  be  seen  in  traversing  Burma. 
Every  little  village  by  the  river  side  shows  its  cluster  of 
white  cupolas,  and  from  every  cliff  and  mound  flash  the 
golden  htees,  which  surmount  the  glistening  pinnacles.  The 
building  of  a  pagoda  in  memory  of  the  great  teacher, 
Buddha,  is  believed  to  be  an  act  of  merit,  which  will  free 
the  pious  founders  from  some  of  the  rounds  of  existence 
which  are  necessary  before  heaven  can  be  reached.  For 
it  is  an  essential  doctrine  of  Buddhism  that  the  soul  must 
be  purged  by  an  enormous  number  of  transmigrations  from 
every  stain  of  selfishness  or  self-love  before  heaven  can 
be  entered,  and  that  the  highest  heaven  can  only  be 
reached  by  absolute  self-abnegation,  by  the  loss  of  even 
the  desire  to  possess  an  individual  life.  Then  is  Nirvana 
attained;  for  it  is  only  when  self  is  lost  that  eternal  life 
begins.'" 

Monasteries  and  Monks.  —  Every  male  Burman  must  at 
some  time  in  his  life  reside  in  a  monastery,  shave  his  head, 
wear  the  yellow  robe  of  the  Order,  and,  renouncing  the 
world,  go  at  least  once  round  the  village  with  a  begging 
bowl  hung  around  his  neck  with  the  regular  monks.  The 
entry  into  the  monastery  is  the  most  important  event  in  a 
Burman's  experience  and  influences  the  entire  populace. 
Naturally,  therefore,  men  are  friendly  to  the  religion  after 
they  have  left  the  monastery,  as  every  one  does  except 

^  India,  Ceylon,  etc.,  p.   262. 


Il6  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

the  fully  initiated  monks.  x\s  all  boys  attend  these  mo- 
nastic schools,  Buddhism  is  a  national  educator,  with  the 
result  that  in  addition  to  the  reading,  writing,  and  arith- 
metic learned  there,  "  fluency  of  speech  and  great  skill  in 
carrying  on  an  argument  according  to  their  own  system  of 
dialectics  are  the  common  possession  of  the  educated  Bur- 
mans,  and  an  unshaken  conviction  in  the  truth  of  their  reli- 
gion is  almost  universal." 

Defects.  —  Even  this  purest  form  of  Buddhism  is  power- 
less to  regenerate  life.  The  first  Mrs.  Judson's  estimate 
of  the  system,  written  in  1818,  is  true  of  the  Buddhism 
of  to-day :  "  The  system  of  religion  here  has  no  power 
over  the  heart,  or  restraint  on  the  passions.  Though  it  for- 
bids, on  pain  of  many  years'  suffering  in  hell,  theft  and 
falsehood,  yet,  I  presume  to  say,  there  is  not  a  single 
Burman  in  the  country,  who,  if  he  had  a  good  opportunity 
without  danger  of  detection,  would  hesitate  to  do  either. 
Though  the  religion  inculcates  benevolence,  tenderness, 
forgiveness  of  injuries,  and  love  of  enemies;  though  it  for-  • 
bids  sensuality,  love  of  pleasure,  and  attachment  to  worldly 
objects;  yet  it  is  destitute  of  power  to  produce  the  former, 
or  to  subdue  the  latter,  in  its  votaries.  In  short,  the  Bur- 
man  system  of  religion  is  like  an  alabaster  image,  perfect 
and  beautiful  in  all  its  parts,  but  destitute  of  life.  Besides 
being  destitute  of  life,  it  provides  no  atonement  for  sin. 
Here  also  the  Gospel  triumphs  over  this  and  every  other 
religion  in  the  world."^ 

III.    Mohammedanism 

I.  Strength.  —  If  Professor  Schmidt's  estimate  of  their 
total  number  is  correct,"  nearly  one-third  of  all  Moham- 
medans in  the  world  live  in  India  under  the  sway  of  Chris- 
tian England's  King.    The  entire  population  of  the  United 

*  E.  Judson,  Life  of  Adoniram  Judson,  p.  73. 
'  Scobel,  Geographisches  Handbuch,  p.  209. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAV  II7 

States  at  the  census  of  1890  exceeded  India's  Moslems 
eleven  years  later  by  only  half  a  million.  They  possess 
qualities  of  leadership  in  a  higher  degree,  perhaps,  than 
the  Hindus;  yet  this  leadership  has  not  been  exerted  to- 
ward the  elevation  of  their  neighbors  v;^ho  are  without  a 
true  God.  Not  only  are  Indian  Moslems  among  the  lowest 
in  the  number  of  literates,  but  in  most  other  respects  they 
are  laggards.  "  They  have  been  much  less  affected  by  the 
rapid  advance  of  the  modern  world  than  the  Hindus.  Their 
system  is  hopelessly  antagonistic  to  everything  new  and 
everything  progressive."^  Their  very  strength  thus  be- 
comes an  obstacle  to  progress.  So  quick  are  they  to  take 
offence  that  the  Government  has  to  do  more  to  conciliate 
and  favor  this  section  of  the  population  than  it  does  the 
other  four-fifths  of  the  people  of  India. 

2.  Sects  —  the  Sunnites.  —  The  sects  of  Islam  in  India 
are  numerous,  though  more  than  nine-tenths  are  Sunnis. 
The  word  means  those  who  follow  the  Siinna,  or  the  tradi- 
tional rule  of  Mohammed.  They  assume  to  themselves 
the  title  of  Najiyah,  or  those  who  are  "  being  saved  " —  as 
do  the  other  sects  also.  The  hadith,  containing  their  addi- 
tions to  the  Koran,  is  the  residual  after  the  compilers  had 
followed  the  wise  example  of  Yahya  'bn  Nain,  who  wore 
out  his  last  pair  of  shoes  in  collecting  600,000  traditions, 
and  who  said,  "  I  copied  quantities  of  traditions  to  the  dic- 
tation of  liars  and  heated  my  oven  with  them,  whereby 
my  bread  was  well  baked."'  Since  the  object  of  these 
traditions  is  to  make  needless  all  appeals  to  reason  and 
conscience,  even  the  educated  Hindu  Mohammedan  is  not 
a  rational  believer. 

Shiahs  —  These  constitute  about  two  per  cent,  of  India's 
Moslems,  though  they  stand  next  in  number  to  the  Sun- 
nites, if  the  large  number  of  Moslems  who  are  not  distin- 
guished in  the  matter  of  sect  is  disregarded.     As  their 

*  Thoburn,  India  and  Malaysia,  p.  121. 

'  Chambtrs's  Encyclopaedia,  vol.  ix.,  p.  811. 


n8  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OFPORTUNlTV 

name  suggests,  they  are  the  "  followers  "  of  Ali,  believing 
him  to  be  the  rightful  successor  of  Mohammed.  The  ray 
of  divine  glory,  supposed  to  have  been  placed  in  the  body 
of  the  Prophet,  passed  on  to  Ali  and  from  him  descended 
to  the  eleven  Imams,  his  successors.  The  twelfth  Imam, 
the  Mahdi,  exists  hidden  from  man,  but  he  will  be  revealed 
at  the  second  advent  of  Christ.  Though  they  reject  the 
"  six  correct  books  "  of  the  Sunnis,  they  have  five  collec- 
tions of  traditions  of  their  own. 

JVahhabis.  —  While  the  Wahhabis  are  not  numerous, 
they  are  fanatically  opposed  to  British  influence;  and,  as 
in  1863-64,  they  have  been  guilty  of  treasonable  intrigue. 
Patna  is  their  chief  center.  Opposed  to  both  of  the  par- 
ties above  named,  they  are  nevertheless  substantially  Sun- 
nite.  Smoking  is  in  their  opinion  a  greater  sin  than  mur- 
der and  adultery,  and  they  attach  great  merit  to  counting 
the  ninety-nine  names  of  God  on  the  fingers. 

Modern  School.  —  The  sect  which  is  known  as  Mutaz- 
ilites,  "  Separatists,"  have  their  successors  in  the  modern 
school,  who  are  more  in  evidence  in  the  Occident  as 
apologists  for  Mohammedanism  than  their  numbers  war- 
rant. They  are  the  Freethinkers  of  Islam,  denying  the 
eternity  of  the  Koran,  and  asserting  that  Mohammedanism 
is  tolerant  and  non-aggressive.  Saiyid  Amir  Ali  even  goes 
so  far  as  to  say  that  polygamy  is  indirectly  forbidden, 
tliat  the  Islamic  laws  prohibit  slavery,  and  that  it  is  even 
abhorrent  to  Mohammedanism.  Their  discussion  of  moral 
and  social  questions,  however,  is  without  doubt  of  value 
to  the  Empire.  Sir  Saiyid  Ahmad  is  their  greatest  leader 
and  writer. 

Its  Aligarh  Institutions.  —  It  is  to  this  modern  school 
that  the  higher  education  of  Mohammedan  youth  owes  so 
much.  Their  Institute  and  College  at  Aligarh,  whose  chief 
instructors  are  English  graduates  of  British  universities, 
are  probably  the  highest  educational  institutions  in  the 
Moslem  world.     It  is   to  this  type   of  Mohammedanism, 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  II9 

also,  tliat  the  plea  for  reform  in  education  came  at  the  late 
coronation  durbar.  On  that  occasion  Aga  Khan  delivered 
an  address  from  which  this  extract  is  taken :  "  It  was, 
first,  the  bad  example  and  selfishness  of  the  Abbassides; 
secondly,  the  fatal  system  of  modern  purdah,  with  its 
restrictions  on  the  intellectual  development  of  woman; 
thirdly,  the  constant  and  silent  withdrawal  of  the  most 
pious  and  moral  Moslems  into  a  life  of  private  prayer  and 
devotion;  and  lastly,  this  doctrine  of  necessity,  that 
brought  about  our  downfall.  I  say  it  was,  in  my  opinion, 
these  four  causes  that  have  brought  Moslem  society  down 
to  its  present  low  and  degrading  level  of  intellect  and  char- 
acter." He  then  pleads  for  the  enlarged  endowment  of  their 
College :  "  We  want  Aligarh  to  be  such  a  home  of  learn- 
ing as  to  command  the  same  respect  of  scholars  as  Berlin 
or  Oxford,  Leipsic  or  Paris.  And  we  want  those  branches 
of  Moslem  learning,  which  are  too  fast  passing  into  decay, 
to  be  added  by  Moslem  scholars  to  the  stock  of  the  world's 
knowledge.  And,  above  all,  we  want  to  create  for  our  peo- 
ple an  intellectual  and  moral  capital;  a  city  which  shall 
be  the  home  of  elevated  ideas  and  pure  ideals;  a  center 
from  which  light  and  guidance  shall  be  diffused  among  the 
Moslems  of  India,  aye  and  out  of  India,  too,  and  which 
shall  hold  up  to  the  world  a  noble  standard  of  the  justice 
and  virtue  and  purity  of  our  beloved  faith."  Well  may 
the  editor  of  the  periodical  from  which  these  words  are 
quoted,^  say:  "If  the  speech  of  the  President  can  be 
regarded  as  interpreting  the  desires  of  the  2,000  delegates, 
we  are  likely  ere  long  to  see  one  of  the  greatest  changes  in 
the  teaching  and  policy  of  Islam  that  has  ever  been  wit- 
nessed either  in  India  or  elsewhere."  It  should  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  orthodox  Moslems  do  not  regard 
these  Neo-Mohammedans  as  within  the  pale  of  true  Islam, 
any  more  than  strict  Hindus  consider  the  Brahma  Samaj 
as  representing  Hinduism. 

^The  East  and  the  West,  April,  1903,  pp.  148-155. 


120  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPrOKI UNITY 

3.  Islam  WaiiHng.  —  In  'addition  to  Sir  Richard  Tem- 
ple's opinion  of  Indian  Mohammedanism,  found  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter,  others  might  be  quoted  to  show  the  inher- 
ent inabiHty  of  this  widely  accepted  monotheistic  religion 
to  regenerate  India's  millions.  As  Schlegel  said  long  ago 
of  Islam,  it  is  "  a  prophet  without  miracles,  a  faith  with- 
out mysteries,  and  a  morality  without  love ;  which  has  en- 
couraged a  thirst  for  blood,  and  which  began  and  ended 
in  the  most  unbounded  sensuality."^  And  back  of  the 
Mohammedan  purdah  system,  which  Aga  Khan  laments, 
is  a  more  vital  weakness.  "  The  religion  that  does  not 
purify  the  home  can  not  regenerate  the  race;  one  that 
depraves  the  home  is  certain  to  deprave  humanity.  Moth- 
erhood must  be  sacred,  if  manhood  is  to  be  honorable. 
Spoil  the  wife  of  sanctity,  and  for  the  man  the  sanctities 
of  life  have  perished.  And  so  it  has  been  with  Islam.  It 
has  reformed  and  lifted  savage  tribes;  it  has  depraved  and 
barbarized  civilized  nations.  At  the  root  of  its  fairest  cul- 
ture a  worm  has  ever  lived  that  has  caused  its  blossoms 
soon  to  wither  and  die.  Were  Mohammed  the  hope  of 
man,  then  his  state  were  hopeless;  before  him  could  only 
lie  retrogression,  tyranny,  and  despair."^ 

Monotheism  vs.  Idolatry.  —  Even  its  emphasis  of  mono- 
theism has  been  impotent  to  permanently  affect  the  sur- 
rounding idolatry  and  polytheism.  Indeed,  here,  as  in 
China,  one  finds  a  most  convincing  reply  to  Professor 
Menzies'  assertion,  if  he  is  using  the  term  "  heathenism  " 
in  its  broad  sense :  "  Islam  is  an  admirable  corrective  of 
heathenism:  it  brings  the  scattered  and  bewildered  wor- 
shipers of  idols  together  in  one  lofty  faith  and  one  simple 
ruie.'"^  Instead  of  converting  idolaters  to  their  own  views, 
Indian  Mohammedans  added  to  their  own  religion  idola- 
trous elements  from  Hinduism,  especially  in  Bengal,  their 

^  Philosophy  of  History,  quoted  in  Murdoch,  Selectiotis  f*-om  the 
Kcran,  p.   174. 

«  Falrbairn,  The  City  of  God,  p.  98. 
•  Menaies,  Uistory  of  Heligion,  p,  2^8, 


THE  KliLIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAV  12 1 

^reat  stronghold.  Despite  the  Moslem  revival  of  the  last 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Mohammedanism  is  still 
correctly  characterized  by  Sir  William  Hunter's  words: 
"  It  has  conspicuously  failed  to  alter  the  permanent  reli- 
gious conceptions  of  the  people.  ...  A  local  writer, 
speaking  from  personal  acquaintance  with  the  Musalman 
peasantry  in  the  northern  districts  of  Lower  Bengal,  states 
that  not  one  in  ten  can  recite  the  brief  and  simple  kalnia,  or 
creed,  whose  constant  repetition  is  a  matter  of  almost  un- 
conscious habit  with  Mohammedans.  He  describes  them 
as  a  *  sect  which  observes  none  of  the  ceremonies  of  its 
faith,  which  is  ignorant  of  the  simplest  formulas  of  its 
creed,  which  worships  at  the  shrines  of  a  rival  religion,  and 
tenaciously  adheres  to  .practices  which  were  denounced^as 
the  foulest  abominations  by  its  founder.' " 

4.  Islam's  Growth  — 'Censuses.  —  The  question  "whether 
this  compoimd  of  strength  and  weakness  is  making  pro- 
gress in  India  is  one  of  interest  to  all  Christians.  A  com- 
parison of  the  censuses  of  the  last  two  decades  shows  that 
between  the  years  1881  and  1891  they  increased  I4.36'»per 
cent.,  and  during  the  last  decade  8.96  per  cent.  In  those 
two  decades,  however,  the  entire  population  of  India  also 
increased. and  at  the  following  rate:  From  1881H0  1891, 
13  per  cent.;  from  1891  to  1901,  2.48»per  cent. 

IV.  Hinduism 

Writers  on  Hinduism  usually  discuss  its  main  phases 
under  the  heads  of  Vedic  Hinduism,  Brahmanism  — a 
term,  however,  not  used  by  native  writers,  —  and  Popu- 
lar Hinduism.  Enough  has  been  written  about  the  first  of 
these  in  chapter  II.,  and  later  in  the  present  chapter 
Brahmanism,  or  Philosophic  Hinduism,  appears  in  con- 
nection with  reformed  Hinduism.  Popular  Hinduism,  af- 
fecting more  than  two-thirds  of  India's  inhabitants,  calls 
for  fuller  treatment. 


'122  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

I.  Objects  of  Worship  —  Water.  —  Objects  of  worship 
are  exceedingly  numerous,  even  if  the  popular  belief  that 
India  has  33,000,000  gods  is  indefinite.  Water-worship  is 
very  prevalent.  Of  all  waters  those  of  the  Ganges  are  the 
most  to  be  revered,  flowing,  as  they  are  supposed  to  do, 
from  the  toe  of  the  great  god,  Vishnu.  A  manifest  benefit 
to  the  many  millions  living  near  its  fertilizing  waters,  this 
most  majestic  of  Indian  rivers  soon  became,  like  the  Nile, 
the  most  revered  of  all,  — "  no  sin  too  heinous  to  be 
removed,  no  character  too  black  to  be  washed  clean  by  its 
waters.  Hence  the  countless  temples  with  flights  of  steps 
lining  its  banks;  hence  the  army  of  priests,  called  the 
*  Sons  of  the  Ganges,'  sitting  on  the  edge  of  its  streams, 
ready  to  aid  the  ablutions  of  conscience-stricken  bathers 
and  stamp  them  as  white  washed,  when  they  emerge  from 
its  waters;  hence,  also,  the  constant  traffic  carried  on  in 
transporting  Ganges  water  in  small  bottles  to  all  parts  of 
the  country."^  The.  supposed  power  of  the  Ganges  in  life 
is  indicated  by  this  prayer :  "  Oh,  Mother  Ganga !  I  now 
bow  at  thy  feet;  have  mercy  on  thy  servant.  Who  can 
describe  thy  virtues?  Were  the  greatest  of  sinners,  the 
perpetrators  of  endless  crimes,  to  pronounce  the  word 
Ganga,  he,  being  delivered  from  all  his  sins,  shall  be  trans- 
lated to  the  blissful  abode  of  the  celestials."  And  as  death 
approaches,  the  holy  river  is  still  more  valued,  for  the 
reason  that  the  Agni  Ptirana  declares  that  "  those  who  die 
when  half  their  body  is  immersed  in  Ganga  water  shall  be 
happy  thousands  of  thousands  of  ages  and  resemble  Brah- 
ma.'"' Other  votaries  claim  a  higher  sanctity  for  the  Nar- 
bada  River.  "  One  day's  ablution  in  the  Ganges,"  they 
assert,  "  frees  from  all  sin,  but  the  mere  sight  of  the  Nar- 
bada  purifies  from  guilt."  Two  wells  are  likewise  re- 
garded as  especially  sacred,  both  of  them  at  Benares.  One 
is  the  Well  of  Knowledge,  in  which  Siva  is  said  to  reside; 

*  Monier- Williams,  Hinduism,  p.   172. 

'  Murdoch,  Popular  Hinduism,  pp.  20,  21,  ,     ~* 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  I23 

and  the  other,  Manikarnika,  h  fabled  to  have  been  dug 
with  Vishnu's  discus  and  to  have  been  filled  with  perspira- 
tion from  his  body.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  pilgrims, 
many  of  them  diseased,  bathe  in  its  waters,  hoping  to 
remove  in  a  moment  the  sins  of  a  lifetime. 

Stones,  etc.  —  Inanimate  objects,  such  as  stones,  are 
adored.  Some  of  them  —  the  fossil  ammonite,  for  exam- 
ple—  are  supposed  to  possess  inherent  divinity  and  have 
their  connection  with  the  great  gods  —  Vishnu,  in  the 
case  of  the  ammonite.  Most  of  them,  however,  are 
marked  out  for  worship  with  red  paint  and  are  mere 
fetishes.  Petitions  like  the  following  are  offered  by  coo- 
lies and  others  :  "  If  thou  help  me  in  this  work,  I  will  offer 
to  thee  on  the  coming  Saturday  a  pice  [about  half  of 
a  cent]  worth  of  red  lead."  The  traveler  in  India  notes  a 
stone  as  large  as  a  man's  head  lying  at  the  foot  of  a  sacred 
tree;  it  is  the  only  representative  of  Shasti,  protectress 
of  children  and  worshiped  mostly  by  women.  Village 
deities  are  especially  likely  to  be  stones  painted  red;  or 
else  the  same  divine  pigment  is  smeared  over  rocks  and 
sacred  trees. 

Tool  Worship.  —  The  worship  of  another  class  of  inan- 
imate objects,  namely,  one's  tools,  seems  more  reasonable. 
"  Every  object  that  benefits  the  Hindu  and  helps  to  pro- 
vide him  with  a  livelihood  becomes  for  the  time  being  his 
fetish,  or  god.  On  particular  days  the  farmer  prays  to 
his  plow,  the  fisher  to  his  net,  the  writer  adores  his  pen, 
the  banker  his  account-books,  the  carpenter  his  tools,  the 
woman  her  basket  and  other  articles  that  assist  in  her 
household  labors."^ 

Plants  and  Trees.  —  Plants,  too,  are  the  objects  of  wor- 
ship, as  are  certain  trees.  We  have  seen  why  the  soma 
plant  was  considered  divine.  Many  others  are  so  regarded 
because  of  the  Hindu  doctrine  of  transmigration,  accord- 
ing to   which  demons,   men,   and   animals   can   pass   into 

1  Murdoch,  Popular  Hinduism,  p.  20. 


124  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAxNf    OPPORTUNITY 

plants.  It  would  be  manifestly  unwise,  therefore,  to  offend 
any  such  power.  Not  to  speak  of  the  banyan,  the  fig  — 
the  pipal  or  bo  tree  —  and  the  wood  apple,  the  kusa  grass 
and  the  tulasi  plant  are  most  popularly  worshiped.  This 
sacred  grass  "  is  used  at  all  religious  ceremonies.  It  sanc- 
tifies the  soil,  forms  the  most  sacred  of  all  seats,  cleanses 
everything  it  touches,  purifies  the  impure,  and  when 
woimd  round  the  fingers  makes  them  fit  to  engage  in  the 
most  solemn  rites.  In  virtue  it  is  nearly  equal  to  the  excre- 
ments of  the  cow.  .  .  .  The  tulasi  [toolsi,  or  holy 
basil]  is  especially  the  Hindu  wom.an's  divinity.  It  is  gen- 
erally planted  in  the  courtyard  of  respectable  families, 
with  a  space  around  for  circumambulation.  All  the  religion 
of  many  of  the  women  consists  in  walking  round  the  tulasi 
plant,  in  saying  prayers  to  it,  or  in  placing  offerings  before 
it.  The  great  object  is  to  have  sons.  They  walk  io8  times 
around  it,  with  the  right  shoulder  always  turned  towards 
it.  If  the  left  shoulder  were  used,  all  the  efficacy  would 
be  lost."' 

Zoolatry.  —  Animal  worship  is  common,  partly  for  the 
same  reason  that  plants  are  regarded  as  sacred.  The 
popular  belief  is  that  there  are  8,400,000  human,  animal  and 
plant  lives  through  which  any  man  may  pass  in  his  weary 
round  of  transmigration.  "  Even  a  flea  may  enclose  the 
soul  of  some  person  who  was  a  sage  or  a  saint.  The 
.stories  of  talking  beasts  and  birds  are  by  ignorant  Hindus 
looked  upon  as  real  narratives."  While  the  cow  and,  next 
to  her,  the  bull  rank  highest  in  India's  zoolatry,  the  monkey 
is  also  held  in  high  veneration.  Hindu  women  will  not  in- 
jure a  cat,  since  that  was  the  animal  upon  which  Shasti 
was  said  to  ride.  The  worship  of  snakes  is  likewise  a  spe- 
cialty of  the  women,  who  place  before  their  holes  offerings 
of  milk  and  eggs,  with  invocations  and  prayers. 

Brahmans.  —  Living  men  are  regarded  as  divine.  Not 
only  does  Manu  assert  that  a  "  Brahman  is  a  mighty  god, 

*  Murdoch,   Popular  Hinduism,   pp.    15,    16. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  1 2$ 

a  supreme  divinity  whether  he  be  learned  or  unlearned,  and 
even  if  employed  in  inferior  occupations,"  but  they  are 
actually  so  looked  upon  by  the  masses.  Most  Hindu  men 
have  one  of  them  for  his  Guru.  "  They  are  taught  that  it 
is  better  to  offend  the  gods  than  the  Guru.  If  a  man  of- 
fends the  gods,  his  Guru  can  intercede  on  his  behalf  and 
win  their  favor ;  but  if  a  man  offend  the  Guru,  there  is  none 
to  appease  his  wrath.  The  curse  of  a  Guru  will  condemn 
a  man  to  untold  miseries  in  hell.  Hence  it  is  no  uncommon 
thing,  when  a  disciple  meets  his  Guru,  to  prostrate  himself 
before  him  and  take  the  very  dust  from  his  feet  and  place 
it  on  his  head.  .  .  .  The  depth  of  debasement  is 
reached  in  the  case  of  the  Vallabha  sect,  a  division  of  the 
Vaishnavas.  Their  chief  priests  are  called  Maharajas  and 
are  regarded  as  incarnations  of  Krishna.  Men  and  women 
prostrate  themselves  at  their  feet,  offering  them  incense, 
fruit,  and  flowers,  and  waving  lights  before  them.  .  .  . 
Women  are  taught  to  believe  that  the  highest  bliss  wall  be 
secured  to  themselves  and  their  families  by  intercourse 
with  the  Maharajas.  Rich  Bombay  merchants,  as  shown 
by  a  trial  in  1862,  gave  their  waives  and  daughters  to  be 
prostituted  as  an  act  of  religious  merit  to  men  who  had 
ruined  their  health  by  debauchery.''^ 

Ancestral  Worship.  —  This  wadely  prevalent  worship  is 
based  upon  the  Hindu  belief  that  some  of  the  dead  are  de- 
graded at  death  to  the  demon  state,  while  others  become 
divinities.  For  three  generations  it  is  believed  that  the 
departed  need  to  be  nourished  by  their  descendants  and  to 
have  works  of  merit  performed  for  their  benefit.  The 
sraddha  offerings  on  the  first  day  after  death  give  the 
departed  spirit  a  head,  on  the  second  day  a  neck  and  shoul- 
ders, and  so  on  until  the  tenth  day  when  the  body  is  formed 
and  is  voraciously  hungry.  Feeding  on  the  offerings,  it 
gains  strength  for  the  awful  journey  to  Yama,  or  hell, 
begun  on  the  thirteenth  day.     Midway  in  this  journey  of 

^  Murdoch,  Popular  Hindxiism,  p.   25. 


126  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

559,000  miles  is  the  awful  river,  Vaitarani,  which  is  650 
miles  wide  and  "  filled  with  blood,  infested  by  huge  sharks, 
crocodiles  and  sea-monsters,  darkened  by  clouds  of  hideous 
vultures.  Thousands  of  condemned  spirits  stand  trembling 
on  its  banks.  Consumed  by  a  raging  thirst,  they  drink  the 
blood  which  flows  at  their  feet;  then  tumbling  headlong 
into  the  torrent,  they  are  overwhelmed  by  the  rushing 
waves.  Finally  they  are  hurried  down  to  the  lowest  depths 
of  hell  to  undergo  inconceivable  tortures.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Hindu  is  taught  that  by  performing  certain  re- 
ligious rites  and  giving  gifts  to  the  Brahmans,  all  the  ter- 
rific penalties  of  sin  may  be  avoided  and  Yama  loses  its 
victims."^  What  wonder  that  the  birth  of  a  son  is  desired, 
since  he  is  the  proper  one  to  present  these  offerings,  and 
since  it  is  these  that  deliver  parents  from  hades! 
Nor  is  it  any  marvel,  since  India's  millions  do  not  regard 
the  above  as  a  Dantesque  fantasy  but  as  an  impending  and 
dreaded  reality,  that  Hindu  parents  look  with  utter  dismay 
upon  the  conversion  of  an  only  son  to  the  Protestant  re- 
ligion, whose  teachings  are  so  diametrically  opposed  to 
such  a  belief. 

Deified  Men.  —  Five  classes  of  men  have  been  deified 
and  are  objects  of  general  adoration,  as  are  the  manes  of 
the  departed  in  a  given  family.  These  are  noted  kings, 
warriors,  Brahmans,  saints,  and  sages.  Their  apotheosis 
is  gradual  and  natural.  "  The  earliest  start  of  even  a  first 
rate  god  may  have  been  exceedingly  obscure;  but  if  he  or 
his  shrine  make  a  few  good  cures  at  the  outset,  especially 
among  women  or  cattle,  his  reputation  goes  rolling  up  like 
a  snowball.  This  is  the  kind  of  success  which  has  made 
the  fortune  of  some  of  the  most  popular,  the  richest,  and 
the  most  widely  known  gods  in  Berar,  who  do  all  the  lead- 
ing business.'"^  Votaries  being  capricious,  hero-worship  is 
subject  to  constant  change.     "  The  Indian  pantheon,"  as 

^  Murdoch,  Popular  Hinduism,  pp.  12,  13. 
'  Lyall,  Asiatic  Studies,  p.  24. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  12/ 

Sir  A.  C.  Lyall  remarks,  "  like  the  palace  in  the  Persian 
parable,  is  but  a  caravanserai." 

Demonolatry.  —  Demons  and  malevolent  spirits  are  the 
objects  of  almost  universal  dread  and  reverence,  especially 
in  Burma.  It  is  the  main  feature  of  worship  that  marks 
the  animist  also.  The  wide  prevalence  of  this  largely  non- 
Aryan  superstition  is  thus  stated  by  Sir  Monier- Williams : 
"  The  ordinary  Hindu  peasant's  religion  consists  mainly  in 
seeking  deliverance  from  the  evil  inflicted  by  demons.  .  .  . 
The  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  India  are,  from 
the  cradle  to  the  burning-ground,  victims  of  a  form  of 
mental  disease  which  is  best  expressed  by  the  term  demon- 
ophobia.  They  are  haunted  and  oppressed  by  a  perpetual 
dread  of  demons.  They  are  firmly  convinced  that  evil 
spirits  of  all  kinds,  from  malignant  fiends  to  mischievous 
imps  and  elves, tare  ever  on  the  watch  to  harm,  harass,  and 
torment  them;  to  cause  plague,  sickness,  famine,  and  dis- 
aster; to  impede,  injure,  and  mar  every  good  work."* 

Burmese  Nat  Worship.  —  In  Burma  there  is  a  modifi- 
cation of  demonolatry,  as  many  of  the  spirits  are  benev- 
olent and  are  only  demons  in  this  restricted  sense.  Nat,  the 
name  for  these  spirits,  has  "  two  distinct  meanings,  one 
kind  of  nats  being  the  inhabitants  of  the  six  inferior 
heavens, —  the  devas,  transferred  from  the  Vedic  mythol- 
ogy,—  and  the  other,  the  spirits  of  the  air,  water,  and 
forest.  The  last  are  the  most  diligently  propitiated,  for 
fear  of  the  harm  they  may  do,  at  a  shrine  at  the  end  of  each 
village.  Sometimes  it  is  a  mere  bamboo  cage  with  a  gaudy 
image  or  images  of  a  fetish-like  ugliness,  to  which  offer- 
ings are  made  by  the  villagers.  In  fact  the  whole  category 
of  local  spirits,  disease  spirits,  demons,  omens,  and  magic- 
workers  is  to  be  found  in  considerable  force  in  Burma, 
though  greatly  frowned  upon  by  local  [Buddhist]  priests. 
.  .  .  The  butterfly  spirit  is  the  Burmese  idea  of  the  es- 
sential spirit  of  human  life,  which  may  wander  in  dreams, 
*  Monier-WilHams,   Brahmanism   and  Hinduism,   pp.    210,   211, 


12S  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

be  charmed  or  afflicted  by  demons  or  wizards,  be  preserved 
by  witch-doctors,  and  which  finally  departs  at  death/" 

The  Trimurti  —  Brahmd.  —  India's  gods  and  goddesses 
are  in  many  cases  less  worthy  of  honor  than  some  of  the 
objects  of  worship  already  mentioned.  At  the  head  of  the 
pantheon  stand  the  Hindu  triad,  or  trimurti,  Brahma,  mas- 
culine, the  offspring  of  the  Eternal  Supreme  Being  -— 
Brahma,  neuter,  the  maker  of  all  things;  Vishnu,  the  pre- 
server; and  Siva,  the  destroyer  and  reproducer.  Of  these 
Brahma  is  without  a  temple,  save  at  Pushkara,  the  other 
gods  having  deprived  him  of  worship,  because  he  thrice  told 
a  lie  and  hired  the  cow,  Kamadhenu,  and  the  three  Kataki 
as  false  witnesses.  If  they  had  been  equally  conscientious 
regarding  their  own  sins,  there  would  have  been  no  Hindu 
pantheon;  for  mortals  guilty  of  a  tithe  of  the  crimes  that 
mark  the  story  of  Vishnu  and  Siva  would  have  been  jailed 
and  executed  by  any  modern  court  of  justice. 

Vishnu  as  Krishna.  —  The  idea  underlying  the  avatars 
or  incarnations  of  Vishnu  is  praiseworthy,  their  object 
professedly  being  to  correct  glaring  evils  or  to  effect  some 
great  good  for  the  world.  Of  his  ten  principal  incarna- 
tions, the  eighth,  that  of  Krishna,  "the  dark  god,"  is 
widely  celebrated.  He  is  the  most  popular  of  all  the  later 
deities  of  India.  "  Krishna,  as  conceived  by  the  Hindus 
now,  is  a  strangely  mixed  character.  He  is  the  warlike 
prince  of  Dwaraka,  in  Gujarat;  he  is  the  licentious 
cowherd  of  Vrindavana;  and  he  is  the  Supreme  Divinity 
incarnate.  .  .  .  Unhappily  the  Hindu  mind  delights 
especially  in  the  foul  tales  told  of  him  in  the  second  of 
these  characters;  and  among  the  embellishments  of  Hindu 
dwellings  may  often  be  found  pictures  representing  him 
sporting  with  the  Gopis  [female  cowherds].  The  influ- 
ence for  evil  which  the  story  of  Krishna's  early  life  has 
had  in  debasing  the  Hindu  mind  has  been  immense.'" 

*  Bettany,  The  World's  Religions,  pp.  309,  310. 
'Mitchell,  Hinduism  Past  and  Present,  pp.    119,   120, 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  1 29 

He  has  been  characterized  as  the  incarnation  of  Lust 
and  is  said  to  have  had  i6,ioo  wives  and  180,000  sons/ 

Siva.  —  And  Siva,  the  third  member  of  the  trimiirti,  the 
companion  of  prostitutes  whose  eyes  are  red  from  intoxica- 
tion, is  most  fitly  represented  by  the  symbols  of  generation, 
the  linga  and  yoni  combined.  "  Temples  to  hold  this  sym- 
bol, which  is  of  a  double  form  to  express  the  blending  of 
the  male  and  female  principles  in  creation,  are  probably 
the  most  numerous  now  to  be  seen  in  India."^  It  may 
be  added  that  Vishnu  is  most  popular  in  the  North,  while 
Siva  is  the  favorite  god  of  Southern  India. 

Ganesa.  —  Ganesa,  son  of  Siva,  is  a  god  of  second- 
ary, yet  great,  importance  to  the  Hindu,  though  his 
elephant  head  and  bloated  body  do  not  suggest  it. 
As  lord  of  the  troops  of  mischievous  and  malignant 
spirits  who  cause  obstacles  and  difficulties,  he  is  in- 
voked at  the  beginning  of  all  undertakings.  Schoolboys, 
especially,  pray  to  him  for  aid  in  their  studies,  while  every 
orthodox  Indian  book  begins  with  an  invocation  to  him, 
the  writing  of  a  book,  according  to  Monier-Williams, 
being  peculiarly  liable  to  obstruction  from  spiteful  and 
jealous  spirits,  whose  malignity  must  be  counteracted. 

Goddesses.  —  Not  to  speak  of  the  myriads  of  other  Hin- 
du gods,  mention  must  be  made  of  a  few  of  the  goddesses 
most  popular  in  India.  Each  god  has  one  or  more  wives, 
who  represent  the  active  principle  of  the  divine  nature,  as 
he  does  the  quiescent  principle.  Brahma's  Sakti,  or  active 
principle,  is  Sarasvati,  the  goddess  of  learning ;  Lakshmi  is 
the  wife  of  Vishnu  and  is  the  goddess  of  fortune;  and 
Siva's  wife  is  Kali,  **  black,"  variously  known  as  Parvali 
and  Himavati,  because  a  daughter  of  the  Himalayas,  Bhai- 
ravi,  "  the  terrible,"  Durga,  overcomer  of  the  giant  of  that 
name,  or  simply  as  Mahadevi,  "  the  great  goddess."  As 
the  latter  appellation  suggests,  Kali  is  par  excellence  the 

^Murdoch,  Popular  Hinduism,   pp.   30,   31. 
'  Monier- Williams,    Hinduism,    p.    93. 


130  INDIA   AND,  CHRISTIAN    OPrORTUNIT"X: 

great  goaaess  01  India,  and  from  IT^r  tRe  metropoffs  gets 
its  first  syllable,  Calcutta  signifying  "  dwelling  of  Kali." 
This  goddess  "  is  represented  as  a  black  woman  with  four 
arms.  In  one  hand  she  has  a  weapon,  in  another  the  head 
of  the  giant  she  has  slain;  with  the  two  others  she  is  en- 
couraging her  worshipers.  For  earrings  she  has  two  dead 
bodies;  she  wears  a  necklace  of  skulls.  Her  only  clothing 
is  a  girdle  made  of  dead  men's  hands,  and  her  tongue  pro- 
trudes from  her  mouth.  Her  eyes  are  red  as  those  of  a 
drunkard,  and  her  breasts  are  smeared  with  blood.  She 
stands  with  one  foot  on  the  thigh  and  the  other  on  the 
breast  of  her  husband."^ 

Saktas.  —  Worshipers  of  tlie  Sakti,  or  female  principle 
of  the  gods,  are  known  as  Saktas.  They  are  divided  into 
two  parties,  those  of  the  right  hand,  whose  practices  are 
merely  marked  by  mystery,  magic,  and  folly,  and  those  of 
the  left  hand,  whose  immorality  is  unsurpassed  by  the 
worst  that  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  dreamed  of,  and  prob- 
ably has  been  unequalled  in  any  other  system.  At  their 
meetings  "  a  woman  must  be  present  as  the  living  repre- 
sentative of  the  Sakti  goddess.  She  is  first  stripped  of  all 
her  clothing;  wine  and  flesh  are  given  to  her  and  to  the 
company,  which  must  be  composed  of  both  sexes.  The 
women  drink  first  out  of  goblets  of  cocoanut  or  human 
skulls.  The  men  then  drink.  No  regard  is  paid  to  caste. 
Excitement,  even  intoxication,  is  produced  by  the  abundant 
use  of  liquor.  The  lights  are  extinguished,  and  then  follow 
doings  indescribable.  Professor  H.  H.  Wilson  rightly 
designates  these  as  *  most  scandalous  orgies.'  The  abomi- 
nable character  of  the  whole  celebration  is  heightened  by 
the  declaration  of  the  sect  that  all  is  done,  not  for  sensual 
gratification,  but  as  an  exalted  form  of  divine  worship."* 
As  it  has  been  estimated  that  three-fourths  of  the  Hindus 
in  Bengal  are  Saktas,  the  loathsomeness,  and  awful  danger 

^  Murdoch,  Popular  Hinduism,  p.  36. 

*  Mitchell,  Hinduism.  Past  and  Present,  p.  ij.4. 


1 

^irf^  t  Jig 

Ij 

Great  Mosque  at  Delhi 


Tank  and  Temple  Architecture — South  India 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAV  I3I 

of  such  a  religion  may  be  realized.  To  speak  fully  of  In- 
dia's "  gods  many  and  lords  many,"  would  only  show  the 
appropriateness,  as  applied  to  Hinduism,  of  Bossuet's 
words  describing  classical  antiquity,  "  Tout  etait  Dieu,  ex- 
cepte  Dieu  lui-meme,  —  All  was  God,  save  God  Himself." 
2.  Shrines  and  Temples.  —  In  describing  the  Hindu  vil- 
lage, the  place  of  the  Brahman  priesthood  in  the  common 
life  was  spoken  of  and  more  need  not  be  said.  Nor  will 
decency  permit  anything  more  than  a  reference  to  those 
unfortunate  women  who  are  priestesses  of  religion,  and 
who,  whether  called  muralis,  bhavins,  jogtins,  or  nautch 
girls,  are  in  reality  all  more  or  less  deserving  the  name  of 
a  single  class  of  them,  devadasi,  "  slaves  of  the  god."  This 
means  slaves  of  lust,  either  of  the  priests  or  of  men  of  every 
caste.  The  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  educated 
women,  outside  the  Christian  pale,  belong  to  these  classes, 
ought  not  to  abate  our  pity  and  compassion  for  them.  Yet 
public  religion  has  its  high  places  which  must  be  men- 
tioned. They  range  from  the  rude  shrines,  dotted  all  over 
the  land,  adorned  with  a  rag  or  two  to  attract  worshipers, 
to  v/orld-famed  temples.  These  "  vary  in  style  and  size, 
beginning  in  their  simplest  form  with  the  village  shrine  of 
the  local  god,  and  the  cave  temple  of  the  early  Buddhist, 
advancing  to  the  elaborately  carved  Kailas  cut. out  of  the 
solid  rock,  and  the  huge  and  grotesquely  ornamented  tow- 
ers which  crown  the  vast  structures  of  Southern  India. 
The  country  is  rich  in  building  materials,  and  the  best 
available  is  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  divine.  Stone  of 
various  colors,  marble,  and  a  durable  and  costly  stucco  are 
all  represented.  In  the  east  and  in  Burma,  where  stone  Is 
rare  or  has  to  be  Imported  from  a  distance,  timber  takes  its 
place;  or  In  the  midst  of  the  highly  cultivated  tracts,  where 
trees  have  had  to  make  v/ay  for  the  plow,  the  useful  bam- 
boo v/ith  the  palm  thatching  lends  a  special  feature  to  the 
architecture.  It  may  be  observed  in  passing,  that  though 
the  divinities  in  favor  vary  in  each  tract  of  India,  there  is 


13:^  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

a  curious  tendency  toward  simplicity  in  both  temple  and 
rites,  as  well  as  in  the  character  of  the  god,  among  the 
more  martial  and  hardy  races;  while  among  their  oppo- 
sites,  fashion  inclines  toward  elaborate  and  grotesque 
monstrosities  in  architecture  and  a  cruel  and  bloodthirsty 
deity  indoors.  A  great  feature  in  Brahmanic  worship  is 
the  frequency  and  efficacy  of  ceremonial  ablutions.  These 
must  be  performed  daily  before  food  is  taken,  so  that  a 
large  pond  or  reservoir  is  usually  provided,  unless  a  stream 
be  within  reach. "^ 

3.  Hinduism's  Highplaces.  —  National  high  places  are 
legion,  including  river  confluences,  residences  of  famous 
deities,  as  that  of  Jagannath  —  Juggernaut  —  at  Puri,  di- 
vine lakes,  shrines  of  goddesses,  and  famous  monasteries. 
Greater  than  all  the  rest,  however,  is  Benares,  the  Jerusa- 
lem of  the  Hindus.  "  Here  in  this  fortress  of  Hinduism, 
Brahmanism  displays  itself  in  all  its  plenitude  and  power. 
Here  the  degrading  effect  of  idolatry  is  visibly  demon- 
strated as  it  is  nowhere  else  except  in  the  extreme  south  of 
India.  Here  temples,  idols,  and  symbols,  sacred  wells, 
springs  and  pools,  are  multiplied  beyond  all  calculations. 
Here  every  particle  of  ground  is  believed  to  be  hallowed 
and  the  very  air  holy.  The  number  of  temples  is  at  least 
2,000,  not  counting  smaller  shrines.  In  the  principal  tem- 
ple of  Siva,  called  Visvesvara,  are  collected  in  one  spot 
several  thousand  idols  and  symbols,  the  whole  number 
scattered  throughout  the  city  being,  it  is  thought,  at  least 
half  a  million."' 

4.  Temple  Worship.  —  Worship  is  conducted  on  a  dif- 
ferent plan  from  that  in  Christian  lands.  It  is  mainly  a 
personal  service  of  the  gods,  the  priests  being  their  valets, 
and  butlers,  and  the  people  being  absent  or  else  passive 
spectators.  Thus  in  Dr.  Mitra's  description  of  the  worship 
in  a  great  Siva  temple  in  Orissa,  of  the  twenty-two  cere- 

*  India,   Ceylon,   etc.,   pp.   6,  7. 

'  Monier-Williams,  Hinduism,  pp.    174,   175, 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  IJ,^ 

monial  acts  of  the  daily  worship,  ten  have  to  do  with  the 
god's  dress  and  sleep,  and  nine  are  connected  with  as  many 
meals  which  he  daily  enjoys.  Waking  him  with  bells  at 
dawn  and  the  waving  of  lights  before  him  when  his  teeth 
are  brushed  in  the  morning  and  a  similar  waving  before 
retiring  are  the  other  acts  of  worship/  "  The  worship  of 
Vishnu  is  much  of  the  same  character,  but  no  animal  food 
is  offered.  The  following  is  part  of  the  address  to  the  god 
when  wakening  him  with  singing  and  music  in  the  morn- 
ing: 'The  darkness  has  departed;  the  flowers  have 
opened  and  diffused  around  their  fragrance;  behold  the 
dawn  of  the  day  and  the  morning  breeze  !  Arise,  therefore, 
thou  that  sleepest  in  thy  bedchamber.'  .  .  .  The  temple 
of  Kali  near  Calcutta  at  great  festivals  almost  swims  with 
blood,  and  the  smell  is  fairly  sickening.  The  people  bring 
their  victims,  pay  the  fee,  and  the  priests  put  a  little  red 
lead  on  its  head.  When  their  turn  comes,  the  executioner 
takes  the  animal,  fixes  its  head  in  a  frame,  and  then  be- 
heads it.  A  little  of  the  blood  is  placed  in  front  of  the  idol, 
and  the  pilgrim  takes  away  the  headless  bod}^  Dr.  Rajen- 
dralala  Mitra  says,  *  There  is  scarcely  a  respectable  house 
in  all  Bengal,  the  mistress  of  which  has  not  at  one  time 
or  other  shed  her  own  blood  under  the  notion  of  satisf}'ing 
the  goddess  by  the  operation.'  "^ 

No  Congregational  Worship.  —  It  should  be  added  that 
the  idea  of  Congregational  worship  is  wanting  in  the  Hin- 
du's mind.  "  Occasionally,  it  is  true,  and  on  stated  days, 
he  visits  idol  shrines;  but  he  does  not  go  there  with  any 
idea  of  praying  with  others.  He  goes  to  the  temple  to  per- 
form what  is  called  Darsana;  that  is,  to  look  at  the  idol, 
the  sight  of  which,  when  duly  dressed  and  decorated  by  the 
priest,  is  supposed  to  confer  great  merit.  After  viewing 
the  image,  he  may  endeavor  to  propitiate  the  favor,  or 
avert  the  anger,  of  the  god  it  represents  by  prostrations  of 

I  Monier-Williams,  Brahmanism  and  Hinduism,  pp.  93,  94. 
'  ^Murdoch,  Popular  Hinduism,  p.  46. 


134  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

the  body,  repetitions  of  its  name,  or  presentation  of  offer- 
ings. His  real  religion  is  an  affair  of  family  usage,  do- 
mestic ritual,  and  private  observance.  Not  that  his  do- 
mestic worship  is  free  from  sacerdotal  interference.  Sac- 
erdotalism uncontrolled  by  any  central  authority  exerts  a 
strong  power»over  personal  and  family  religion  and  all  the 
stronger   from  the   absence   of   congregational   religion."^ 

Spiritual  Worship.  —  Both  in  the  temples  and  in  private 
life  there  is  not  wanting  a  more  spiritual  conception  than 
that  of  the  vast  majority  of  Hindus,  just  described.  Thus 
in  the  Madhva  Sect  of  Vaishnavism, —  a  sect  nearly  seven 
centuries  old  and  supposed  to  have  gained  its  distinctive 
character  from  contact  with  early  Christian  missions, — 
the  act  of  worship  is  said  to  be  "  threefold:  with  the  voice 
—  by  veracity,  right  conversation,  kind  words,  and  the  rep- 
etition of  the  Veda;  with  the  body  —  by  giving  alms  to  the 
poor,  by  defending  and  protecting  them ;  with  the  heart  — 
by  mercy,  love,  and  faith.  This  is  merely  a  repetition  of 
the  old  triple  'division  of  duties,  according  to  thought, 
word,  and  deed."^  The  recent  reform  movements,  espe- 
cially some  of  the  samajes,^  also  emphasize  the  spiritual 
nature  of  worship. 

5.  Home  Religion.  —  A  native  writer,  Babu,  S.  C.  Bose, 
thus  describes  the  family  religion  of  the  higher  classes: 
"  In  almost  every  respectable  Hindu  household  there  is  a 
tutelar  god,  generally  made  of  stone  or  metal  after  one  of 
the  images  of  Krishna,  set  up  on  a  gold  or  silver  throne, 
with  silver  umbrella  and  silver  utensils  dedicated  to  its 
service.  Every  morning  and  evening  it  is  worshiped  by 
the  hereditary  Purohit,  or  priest,  who  visits  the  house  for 
the  purpose  twice  a  day,  and  who,  as  the  name  implies,  is 
the  *  first '  in  all  religious  ceremonies,  second  to  none  but 
the  Guru,  or  spiritual  guide.    The  offerings  of  rice,  fruits, 

*  Monier- Williams,  Brahmantsm  and  Hinduism,  p.  352.     ^  Ibid.,  p.  132. 

3  While  samaj  literally  means  "  society,"  less  correct  but  more  common 
usage  is  here  followed,  according  to  which  it  signifies  "  reform  organi- 
zations." 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAV  I35 

sweetmeats,  and  milk,  made  to  the  god,  he  carries  home 
after  the  close  of  the  service.  A  conch  is  blown,  a  bell  is 
rung,  and  a  gong  beat  at  the  time  of  worship,  when  the 
religiously  disposed  portion  of  the  inmates,  male  and  fe- 
male, in  quasi-penitent  attitude,  make  their  obeisance  to 
the  god  and  receive  in  return  the  hollow  benediction  of  the 
priest.  The  daily  repetition  of  the  service  quickens  the 
heart-beats  of  the  devotees  and  serves  to  remind  them,  how- 
ever faintly,  of  their  reUgious  duties.  Such  worship  is  pop- 
ularly regarded  as  an  act  of  great  merit,  paving  the  way  to 
everlasting  bliss."^  In  poor  homes  there  is  no  regular  daily 
worship,  though  irregular  and  frequent  religious  acts  and 
offerings  are  characteristic  of  practically  every  one.  Most 
of  these  acts  are  mechanical  and  intended  to  gain  merit. 
Thus  children  are  generally  named  for  some  god,  so  that 
merit  may  accrue  every  time  the  god's  name  is  uttered,  as 
■when  the  child  is  called  home.  Parrots  are  sometimes 
taught  to  repeat  the  names  of  deities,  the  consequent  merit 
belonging  to  the  owner.  A  more  meritorious  deed  is  the 
repetition  of  the  thousand  names  of  Vishnu.  Peculiar  im- 
portance is  attached  to  his  name  Hari.  A  dying  person 
placed  in  the  Ganges  is  exhorted  to  say  "  Hari !"  as  the 
passport  to  heaven. 

6.  Leading  Ideas  of  Hinduism.  —  But  what  is  there  be- 
hind these  external  features  of  Hinduism?  Probably  not 
two  out  of  a  thousand  could  give  any  intelligible  answer  to 
such  a  question.  They  worship  they  know  not  what  nor 
why.  Yet  that  there  are  real,  though  unconscious  needs 
and  motives  underlying  this  omnipresent  religiosity,  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  Disregarding  the  historical  origin  of 
Hinduism's  beliefs,  the  present-day  Hindu  of  the  rank  and 
file  stands  in  the  following  relations  to  religion. 

Selfhood.  —  The  struggle  for  existence  is  for  the  masses 
the  most  pressing  of  realities,  despite  a  warm  climate  and 
ordinarily  fruitful  soil.     Indeed,  the  scorching  heat  and 

*  Bose,  The  Hindoos  as  They  Are,  pp.  11,  12. 


136  INDIA   AND    CIIIUSTIAN    orroKtUNttVT 

possibilities  of  famine  intensify  the  personal  strain  and  the 
constant  sense  of  dependence.  The  Hindu  does  not  re- 
member when  "  he  began  to  be  in  want" ;  he  scarcely  recalls 
a  day  when  he  was  not  in  need.  He  may  not  think  of  his 
Father's  house,  but  he  does  think  of  the  multitudinous 
deities  whose  wrath  may  hinder  and  whose  favor  may  aid 
in  the  strenuous  struggle  for  existence.  Again,  he  lives 
in  the  sensuous  tropics,  and  like  most  men  whose  sensual 
nature  asserts  itself  in  proportion  as  mental  and  spiritual 
ideals  are  lacking,  his  passions  dominate  him.  A  conscience 
seared  through  millenniums  of  heredity  may  possibly  re- 
prove his  unlawful  desires.  H  it  should,  he  does  not  have 
far  to  seek  to  find  divine  sanction,  either  in  the  sacred 
books  of  Hinduism,  or  in  the  example  of  libertine  deities 
for  any  grossest  licentiousness  to  which  he  is  prompted. 
This  man  is  self-centered  in  his  fears  also.  The  very  real 
demon  world  in  which  he  believes  himself  to  live  fills  him 
with  dread.  He  must  pit  against  these  powers  of  darkness 
some  'potent  opposing  power,  and  hence  he  calls  to  his  aid 
his  tutelary  deities.  But  his  fear  goes  farther  afield  as  he 
thinks  of  that  day  when  he  must  tread  his  winepress  alone 
and  make  the  awful  journey  to  Yama.  Who  will  deliver 
him  who  through  fear  of  death  has  been  all  his  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage  ?  And  even  Yama  is  not  the  goal ;  for 
through  the  firmly  believed  doctrine  of  transmigration  a 
series  of  lives,  8,400,000  in  number,  is  inseparably  con- 
nected with  his  own, —  lives  so  truly  described  in  the  pop- 
ular belief  by  the  South  India  poet: 

"  How  many  births  are  past,  I  can  not  tell ; 

How  many  yet  to  come,  no  man  can  say ; 
But  this  alone  I  know,  and  know  full  well, 

That  pain  and  grief  embitter  all  the  way." 

This  dread  of  continued  transmigration  is  the  haunting 
thought  of  every  Hindu.  His  great  aim,  therefore,  is  to 
break  this  chain  of  repeated  existences  and  return  to  com- 
plete absorption  into  pure,  unconscious  spirit. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  Oh'  TO-DAY  137 

The  Caste-Family.  —  But  he  is  not  merely  an  individual 
whose  present  life  is  linked  with  his  other  countless  selves 
of  the  dim  past  and  age-long  future;  he  is  as  indissolubly 
connected  with  a  multitude  of  men  like  himself,  those  of 
his  great  caste-family.  Aside  from  the  social  aspects  of 
this  institution,  which  were  dwelt  upon  in  the  previous 
chapter,  "  caste  is  at  every  point  connected  with  Hinduism, 
—  a  thing  interwoven  with  it,  as  if  Hinduism  were  the 
warp  and  caste  the  woof  of  the  fabric  of  Indian  life."^ 
Personal  responsibility  for  one's  own  morals  and  religion 
thus  becomes  merged  in  the  caste's  views  and  practices,  and 
the  individual  conscience  is  lost  in  the  ethical  judgments 
of  others.  Custom  thus  becomes  the  practical  god  of  all 
Hindus,  and  in  no  land  is  religion  so  dominated  by  society 
interpretations  of  it. 

Gods.  —  The  Hindu's  relation  to  his  caste  and  his  own 
deep  need  of  religion  have  helped  to  make  him  "  in  all 
things  very  religious. "  His  gods  must  be  many  ;  for 
so  are  his  needs,  and  so  has  been  the  teaching  of  his  caste- 
family,  whose  members  by  the  covert  experimenting  of  in- 
dividuals have  hit  upon  many  deities  of  supposed  power. 
India  is  thus  preeminently  the  land  of  idols  and  of  the 
gods  which  to  a  few  of  the  more  enlightened  are  repre- 
sented by  them.  Except  for  the  poems,  notably  the  two 
great  epics,  these  gods  have  no  uplifting  ethical  power  over 
him;  they  are  tools  by  which  he  gains  a  livelihood,  or 
supernatural  defenders  against  omnipresent  but  unseen 
dangers. 

Pantheism.  —  The  higher  minds  of  the  nation  refused  to 
assent  to  a  myriad  of  divine  beings,  preferring  to  regard 
them  as  manifestations  or  attributes  of  the  one  great  All. 
This  metaphysical  idea  has  permeated  the  masses  suffi- 
ciently to  make  it  true  of  even  popular  Hinduism  that  its 
substance    is   wrapped   up    in   its   briefest   of   all  creeds, 

*  Carmichael,  Things  as  They  Are:  Mission  Work  in  SoHthtrn 
India,   p.   85, 


a 38  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

''  Ekam  cva  advitiyam,  —  There  is  but  one  Being  without 
a  second."  The  phrase  "without  a  second"  does  not  mean 
without  a  second  god.  "  Nothing  really  exists  but  the  one 
impersonal  Spirit,  called  Atma,  or  Brahma.  Brahma  is 
real;  the  world  is  an  illusion.  From  it  everything  is  born; 
in  it  everything  breathes  and  is  dissolved."^  Being  thus 
part  of  God, —  nay,  God  himself, —  moral  distinctions  are 
lost  to  every  soul,  because  all  human  sins  thus  become 
divine  acts. 

Mediatorship.  —  But  this  logical  conclusion  is  not  fully 
appreciated  by  the  simple  villager;  there  is  too  much  real 
divinity  in  him  for  that.  Needs  are  pressing;  gods  are 
many;  demerit  and  sin  are  his  body  of  death.  Where  is 
salvation?  He  does  not  say  with  the  patient  old  sheikh  of 
Arabia, 

"There. is  no  daysman  betwixt  us, 

That  might  lay  his  hands  upon  \\s  both  "  ; 

for  in  his  view  they  are  on  every  hand.  He  does  not  care 
so  much  for  those  supposedly  historic  incarnations  of  the 
saving  Vishnu, —  not  even  for  that  of  Krishna;  for  in 
every  hamlet  even  there  are  living  sons  of  the  great  God, 
the  revered  Brahmans.  The  trite  syllogism  of  Indian  logi- 
cians is  the  only  piece  of  formal  reasoning  that  is  univer- 
sally known : 

"  The  whole  world  is  tmder  the  power  of  gods ; 
The  gods  are  under  the  power  of  the  mantras ; 
The  mantras  are  under  the  power  of  the  Brahman ; 
The   Brahman    is   therefore  our    God." 

And  of  such  a  god  a  distinguished  Babu  writes :  "  I  ask 
every  Hindu  to  look  into  his  heart  honestly  and  answer 
frankly,  whether  a  Brahman  of  the  present  day  is  a  true 
embodiment,  a  glorious  display,  a  veritable  representative 
of  Brahma,  the  Creator.  Has  he  not  long  since  sacrificed 
his  traditional  pure  faith  on  the  altar  of  selfishness  and 
*  Monier-Williams,  Brahmanism  and  Hinduism,  v,  34,. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  I39 

concupiscence  and  committed  a  deliberate  suicide  of  his 
moral  and  spiritual  faculties?  We  blush  to  answer  the 
question  in  the  affirmative."^ 

7.  Eclectic  Hinduism.  —  Such  a  system  as  we  have  de- 
scribed could  not  but  feel  the  effect  of  contact  with  West- 
ern thought  and  a  pure  religion.  The  various  samajes  and 
eclectic  systems  of  to-day  are  thus  the  resultant  of  contact 
of  the  Indian  mind  with  Christian  truth  and  institutions, 
leading  to  a  return  to  the  Vedas  and  to  the  amalgamation 
with  them  of  many  Christian  ideas.  "  Most  of  these  move- 
ments are  merely  half-way  houses  between  Hinduism  and 
Christianity.  They  are  with  faces  more  or  less  turned  to- 
ward the  light  and  possess  the  progressive  spirit,  which,  in 
some  cases,  can  not  fail  of  landing  their  members  at  no 
distant  date  in  the  Christian  fold."' 

Brahma  Samaj.  —  The  first  of  recent  religious 
movements  is  the  Brahma  Samaj,  or  Society  of  God, 
founded  by  Rammohun  Roy.  Professor  Monier- Williams 
calls  him  the  "  first  earnest-minded  investigator  of  the 
science  of  comparative  religion  that  the  world  has  pro- 
duced." Though  a  high  caste  Brahman  and  keeping  his 
sacred  cord  about  him  till  death,  he  boldly  attacked  the 
evils  of  Hinduism-  Here  is  his  estimate  of  it :  "  The  pub- 
lic will,  I  hope,  be  assured  that  nothing  but  the  natural  in- 
clination of  the  ignorant  towards  the  worship  of  objects 
resembling  their  own  nature,  and  to  the  external  form  of 
rites  palpable  to  their  grosser  senses,  joined  to  the  self- 
interested  motives  of  their  pretended  guides,  has  rendered 
the  generality  of  the  Hindu  community,  in  defiance  to  their 
sacred  books,  devoted  to  idol  worship: — the  source  of 
prejudice  and  superstition,  and  the  total  destruction  of 
moral  principle,  as  countenancing  criminal  intercourse, 
suicide,  female  murder,  and  human  sacrifice."*    And  this  is 

^  Bose,  The  Hindoos  as  They  Are.  p.   186. 

*  Jones,  India's  Problem,  p.  349. 

•  Monier- Williams,  Brahntanism  and  Hinduism,  p.  481."^ 


140  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

a  Statement  found  in  one  of  his  later  works :  "  The  conse- 
quence of  my  long  and  uninterrupted  researches  into  re- 
ligious truth  has  been  that  I  have  found  the  doctrines  of 
Christ  more  conducive  to  moral  principles  and  better 
adapted  for  the  use  of  rational  beings,  than  any  others 
which  have  come  to  my  knowledge."^  Though  he  estab- 
lished a  society  in  1816,  the  germ  of  the  first  Theistic 
Church  was  not  planted  until  1828.  He  was  a  friend  and 
supporter  of  the  missionaries,  notably  Dr.  Duff,  even 
though  some  of  them  bitterly  assailed  his  positions. 

Keshab  Chandar  Sen.  —  After  the  death  in  Bristol,  Eng- 
land, of  this  greatest  modern  religious  reformer  of  India, 
the  society  was  carried  on  by  his  successors  imtil  in  1844 
the  first  organized  Theistic  Church  of  India,  hence  after- 
ward called  the  Adi  Brahma  Samaj,  was  established  in 
Calcutta,  with  Tagore  as  its  leading  spirit.  It  attracted  a 
large  number  of  Brahmans,  but  soon  discord  began,  owing 
largely  to  the  strength  and  liberality  of  thought  of  Keshab 
Chandar  Sen.  The  desire  of  his  faction  to  enter  into  a 
social  campaign  against  caste  and  various  other  evils  of 
Hinduism,  led  to  a  split,  the  radical  wing  taking  the  name 
of  the  Brahma  Samaj  of  India.  Sen  was  in  no  mood  to 
compromise,  which  was  the  policy  of  Tagore.  "  He  was 
to  destroy,  rather  than  to  renovate  the  old  Vedic  system, 
with  all  its  train  of  ceremonial  rites  and  observances." 
His  strong  mind  finally  so  usurped  dominion  in  the  Society 
that  with  his  own  inconsistency  in  giving  his  daughter  in 
marriage  to  a  native  prince  and  the  sacrifice  of  principles 
in  that  connection,  dissension  arose  and  his  influence  be- 
gan to  wane.  His  later  career  was  marked  by  vagaries, 
though  his  work  still  continued  to  be  helpful  to  the  cause 
of  religious  and  social  reform.  In  its  later  development  the 
Society  was  called  the  New  Dispensation  Church.  His 
general  attitude  toward  Christianity  is  seen  at  its  best  in 
the  famous  address  entitled  "  India  Asks,  Who  is  Christ?  " 

^  Moniel••^^'illiams,  Bmhmanism   and  Hinduism,  p.  483. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  I4I 

delivered  in  Calcutta  in  1879.  In  this  splendid  specimen 
of  native  oratory  occurs  the  oft-quoted  passage:  "It  is 
Christ  who  rules  British  India.  England  has  sent  out  a 
tremendous  moral  force  in  the  life  and  character  of  that 
mighty  prophet  to  conquer  and  hold  this  vast  Empire. 
None  but  Jesus,  none  but  Jesus,  none  but  Jesus,  ever  de- 
served this  bright,  this  precious  diadem,  India,  and  Jesus 
shall  have  it."^ 

Theosophy.  —  The  various  samajes  are  like  the  con- 
servative wing,  the  Adi  Samaj,  or  else  follow  the  type  of 
the  New  Dispensation  Church.  The  growing  Arya  Sa- 
maj is  described  in  chapter  VII.  Some,  again,  take  an  in- 
dependent line,  and  call  their  creed  Theosophy,  meaning 
thereby  divine  wisdom  or  science, —  spiritual  philosophy. 
"  They  hold  that  all  religions  have  elements  of  truth  which 
spring  from  the  one  Fountain  of  Truth,  and  that  Theoso- 
phy is  the  synthesis  of  all  religions.  Hence  pure  Brah- 
manism,  pure  Buddhism,  pure  Islam,  pure  Christianity, 
may  be  equivalent  to  Theosophy.  It  may  be  true  that 
Theosophy  is  spreading,  but  in  India  it  seems  to  be  little 
more  than  another  name  for  Vedanta  philosophy."'  The 
strange  compound  of  fraud  and  mysticism,  concocted  in 
the  witches'  cauldron  of  Madame  Blavatsky  and  Colonel 
Olcott,  has  proven  that  even  in  that  land  of  credulity  and 
occultism,  an  Occidental  importation  is  not  popularly  ap- 
preciated,   save    as    an    abettor    of    reformed    Hinduism. 

8.  Hindiiizing  the  Occident.  —  With  the  advent  of 
Swami  Vivekananda  at  the  Chicago  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions, the  Occident  gained  its  first  realizing  sense  of  re- 
formed Hinduism's  attempt  to  propagate  its  creed  in  Chris- 
tian lands.  Since  that  time  not  a  few  other  swamis  have 
lectured  to  audiences,  mainly  made  up  of  women,  who  have 
been  captivated  by  turbans  and  flowing  robes  and  a  wealth 
of  mellifluous  words  and  of  Oriental  mysticism.    They  are 

*  Monier-Williams,  BraJtmanistn  and  lUtuluism,  p.    516. 
»IbJd.,  p.  526. 


142  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

mostly  teachers  of  the  Vedanta  philosophy  concerning 
which  an  earnest  student  of  the  Upanishads  writes :  "  The 
Vedanta,  the  highest  conclusion  of  Indian  thought,  is  based 
on  a  mistaken  and  pessimistic  view  of  life;  on  a  formulated 
dogma,  unsupported  by  any  evidence  and  untaught  in  the 
hymns  of  the  Rig  Veda;  the  whole  an  elaborate  and  subtle 
process  of  false  reasoning.'"  According  to  the  German 
authority,  Richard  Garbe,  the  object  of  the  Vedanta,  which 
is  "the  most  orthodox  of  the  six  orthodox  Brahmanical 
philosophies,"  is  "  the  release  of  the  soul  from  the  bonds  of 
corporeal  existence  and  the  teaching  of  the  means  of  escape 
from  the  distressful  round  of  rebirth.  .  .  .  This  con- 
viction that  each  individual  after  death  will  be  again  and 
again  reborn  to  a  new  existence  in  which  he  enjoys  the 
rewards  of  previously  accumulated  merit  and  suffers  the 
consequences  of  previous  misdeeds,  is  a  fundamental  fac- 
tor of  the  Indian  pessimism.  According  to  the  Vedanta, 
the  only  release  from  this  endless  round  of  birth  and  death 
is  to  be  won  by  the  attainment  of  knowledge.  The  funda- 
mental dogma  of  the  Vedanta  system,  according  to  the 
teaching  of  the  Upanishads,  is  this :  That  our  self  is  abso- 
lutely identical  with  Brahman  [here  means  "power,"  the 
great  Over-soul].  Now  Brahman  is  eternal  and  infinite. 
But  since  everything  which  consists  of  parts  or  which  is 
susceptible  to  change  is  transitory,  therefore  it  is  impossi- 
ble that  Brahman  should  consist  of  parts,  or  suffer  change. 
From  this  it  follows  that  every  one  in  his  innermost 
essence  must  be,  not  a  part  of  Brahman,  but  the  whole  in- 
divisible Brahman.  Any  other  reality  than  this  there  is 
not."^  This,  then,  is  the  substance  underlying  such  an 
avalanche  of  words  as  have  become  known  to  the  public 
through  Mrs.  Mason's  powerful  and  accurate  satire,  de- 
spite its  incorrect  title.' 

^  Slater,  Studies  in  the  Upanishads,  p.  47. 

^Universal  Cyclopaedia   (1902  edition),  vol.  xii,,  p.   132. 

^  Mason,  The  Little  Green  God. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  TO-DAY  I43 

Vivekananda.  —  The  typical  representatives  of  the 
swamis  is  the  late  Vivekananda  himself.  His  real  name 
was  Norendra  Nath  Dutt,  his  title  Vivekananda  meaning 
"  Bliss-discrimination."  Being  of  the  Siidra  caste  he  was 
forever  disqualified  from  teaching  religion,  or  even  from 
being  taught  its  higher  truths,  standing  as  he  did  at  the 
opposite  pole  of  castedom  from  the  Brahmans,  or  teachers. 
After  graduating  as  B.  A.  in  the  General  Assembly's  Insti- 
tution at  Calcutta,  for  a  time  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Brahma  Samaj,  but  later  he  studied  under  Ramakrishna, 
whom  he  describes  as  being  unlearned.  When  Max- 
Miiller  asked  Vivekananda  whether  his  master  knew  San- 
skrit, he  replied  that  he  had  been  taught  it  by  a  beautiful 
woman  in  the  jungle,  she  having  been  sent  down  from 
heaven  on  this  errand.  The  Oxford  professor's  reply  was : 
"  Nonsense !  The  only  way  to  learn  Sanskrit  is  to  get  a 
grammar  and  dictionary  and  go  to  work."^  His  address 
at  the  Parliament  of  Religions,  which  was  so  much  lauded, 
was  thus  criticised  by  The  Indian  Nation,  one  of  the  ablest 
Hindu  journals :  "  We  can  not  help  thinking  that  it  ex- 
hibits other  evils  than  those  of  mere  compression.  It  is 
not  merely  inadequate,  but  it  is  inaccurate,  inconsistent,  in- 
conclusive. It  is  amusing  to  observe  how  the  writer  ap- 
propriates the  doctrines  and  motives  of  Christianity  and 
flings  them  in  triumph  at  the  Christian.  The  doctrine  of 
love  may  be  Hindu,  but  is  also  and  mainly  Christian."* 

His  Estimate  of  Western  Women.  —  The  Swami  thus 
paints  American  women :  "  When  the  woman  tries  her 
best  to  find  a  husband,  she  goes  to  all  the  bathing  places 
imaginable  and  tries  all  sorts  of  tricks  to  catch  a  man. 
When  she  fails  in  her  attempts,  she  becomes  what  they  call 
an  old  maid  and  joins  the  church.  Some  of  them  become 
very  churchy.  These  church  women  are  awful  fanatics. 
They  are  under  the  thumbs  of  the  priests  there.    Between 

*  Quoted  in  The  Interpreter,  September,  1897. 

*  Swami  Vivekananda  and  His  Guru,  p.  xxix. 


144  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

them  and  the  priests  they  make  a  hell  of  earth  and  make 
a  mess  of  religion.'"  Comparing  liindu  and  American 
homes,  Vivekananda  said :  "  The  Indian  woman  is  very 
happy;  there  is  scarcely  a  case  of  quarreling  between  hus- 
band and  wife.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  United  States, 
where  the  greatest  liberty  obtains,  scarcely  is  there  a 
happy  home.  There  may  be  some;  but  the  number  of 
unhappy  homes  and  marriages  is  so  large  that  it  passes  all 
description.  Scarcely  could  I  go  to  a  meeting  or  a  society 
but  I  found  three-quarters  of  the  women  present  had 
turned  out  their  husbands  and  children.  It  is  so  here, 
there,  and  everywhere."^  The  disgusting  rites  with  which 
he  and  other  swamis  on  their  return  to  India  purify  them- 
selves from  contact  with  Western  peoples,  and  especially 
with  the  ladies  of  culture  whom  they  meet,  include  the 
use  of  the  excreta  of  the  cow.  Surely  American  women 
are  ignorant  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  or  they  would  be 
more  in  earnest  to  send  the  Gospel  to  India  than  to  re- 
ceive from  Hindu  swamis  instruction  in  spiritual  things. 
9.  Hinduism's  Defects.  —  In  an  appeal  to  Hindus,  the 
following  effects  of  Hinduism  are  dwelt  upon,  as  most 
of  them  have  been  in  this  chapter  also,  (i)  As  caste 
discourages  departure  from  India,  it  thus  prevents  the 
acquisition  of  wealth  on  the  part  of  a  few,  while  in  its 
effect  upon  new  manufactures  it  tends  toward  the  impov- 
erishment of  the  masses.  (2)  It  encourages  the  present 
intellectual  stagnation  and  imbecility,  particularly  among 
the  lower  castes.  (3)  It  is  hostile  to  social  reforms.  (4) 
Through  the  slavery  of  caste  rules  individual  liberty  is 
impossible,  as  also  because  of  the  enthronement  of  custom. 
(5)  It  hinders  the  growth  of  nationality  by  interminably 
splitting  society  along  caste  lines.  (6)  A  privileged  few 
of  the  highest  castes  are  puffed  up  with  pride,  while  the 
vast  majority  of  the  lower  orders  in  society  are  ranked 

^  Madras  Mail,  February  6,  1897. 

^  Brahmavadin,  June  19.  1897,  p.  251. 


THE   RELIGIOUS   LIFE   OF    TO-DAY  14$ 

beneath  the  brutes  in  the  thought  of  many.  It  also  regards 
foreigners  as  equally  low  in  the  ceremonial  scale.  Even 
Sir  Monier-Williams  found  when  visiting  India  that  the 
pandits  who  visited  this  master  of  Sanskrit  bathed  after- 
ward to  remove  the  pollution  which  they  had  thus  con- 
tracted.    (7)     Religion  is  centered  on  outward  ceremony. 

(8)  In  Hinduism  religion  and  morality  are  divorced, 
while  immorality  is  deified   and  men  can  sin  religiously. 

(9)  The  means  prescribed  for  deliverance  from  sin  are 
worthless,  such  as  bathing  in  the  Ganges,  rubbing  ashes 
on  the  forehead,  traveling  long  distances  by  measuring 
one's  length  on  the  ground,  etc.  (10)  In  a  word,  Hindu- 
ism is  rebellion  against  God,  the  rightful  Lord  of  tlie 
universe.  It  gives  the  honor  due  to  Him  alone  to  num- 
berless imaginary  gods,  goddesses,  demons,  animals,  and 
inanimate  objects,  Avith  the  results  pictured  so  vividly  in 
the  first  chapter  of  Romans.^ 

To  these  defects  New  India  is  not  blind.  The  result  is 
that,  paralleled  with  the  reactionary  tendency  of  Neo- 
Hinduism  which  is  represented  by  the  cry  *'  Back  to  the 
Vedas,"  there  is  a  pronounced  drift  towards  skepticism 
and  irreligion.  This  new  attitude  of  the  educated  Hindu's 
mind  toward  his  religion  affords  a  mighty  challenge  to 
prompt  Christian  effort. 

V.     Pilgrimages  and  Holy  Men 

I.  Pilgrimages. — Two  features  of  the  religious  life 
of  India  belong  alike  to  Hinduism  and  Mohammedanism, 
as  well  as  to  some  of  the  less  numerous  religions.  Pil- 
grimages are  the  result  of  the  popular  desire  to  visit  at 
least  once  in  a  lifetime  places  of  reputedly  great  sanctity. 
They  "  are  generally  performed  as  acts  of  faith  and  devo- 
tion for  the  accumulation  of  religious  merit,"  or  to  atone 
for  sins.     Sometimes,  however,   they  are  undertaken   for 

^  Murdoch,    Popular   Hinduism,    pp.    74-77. 


146  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

the  performance  of  Sraddha  ceremonies  in  honor  of  de- 
parted ancestors,  or  for  the  recovery  of  some  sick  person, 
or  to  convey  the  burnt  remains  of  the  bodies  of  deceased 
relatives  to  some  sacred  shrine  near  a  river,  the  object 
being  to  scatter  the  ashes  on  the  purifying  waters.^  Pil- 
grim hunters,  or  agents,  go  about  the  country  securing 
devotees  for  their  particular  shrines,  and  the  number  who 
go  annually  to  such  places  as  Benares  and  Puri  —  the 
shrine  of  Jagannath  —  is  almost  beyond  belief.  The 
moral  and  physical  effects  of  these  pilgrimages  are  wholly 
against  them,  since  thieves  and  harlots  participate  in 
force,  and  sanitation  becomes  well-nigh  impossible. 

2.  Holy  Men. —  Great  numbers  of  men  spend  their 
lives,  not  only  in  visiting  the  great  pilgrim  centers,  but  in 
going  about  from  shrine  to  shrine.  While  Moslem  fakirs 
differ  somewhat  from  the  Hindu  Yogis,  they  are  alike  the 
beaux  ideals  of  the  two  great  creeds.  Sir  Monier-Wil- 
liams  says  of  the  latter :  "  The  aim  of  the  Yoga  is  to 
teach  the  means  by  which  the  human  soul  may  attain 
complete  union  with  the  Universal  Soul.  .  .  .  The 
Yoga  system  appears,  in  fact,  to  be  a  mere  contrivance 
for  getting  rid  of  all  thought,  or,  rather,  of  concentrating 
the  mind  with  the  utmost  intensity  upon  nothing  in  par- 
ticular. Ordinarily  it  is  a  strange  compound  of  exercises, 
consisting  in  unnatural  restraint,  forced  and  painful  pos- 
tures, twistings  and  contortions  of  the  limbs,  suppressions 
of  the  breath  undertaken  apparently  with  no  object  except 
to  achieve  vacuity  of  mind."  ^  Filth  and  uncleanliness  are 
other  characteristics  of  these  men.  Many  of  them  live 
alone  as  solitary  mendicants,  while  others  go  in  companies 
armed  and  with  banners.  In  the  case  of  Mohammedan 
fakirs,  they  are  often  a  source  of  danger  because  of  their 
fanaticism,  particularly  after  they  have  become  wrought 
up  at  some  famous  place  of  pilgrimage. 

^  Monier-Williams,    Hinduism,    pp.    200,    201. 
*  Monier-WIlliams,    Hinduism,   pp.    171,    172. 


CHRISTIANITY   IN   INDIA 

India  is  unlike  other  great  mission  fields,  as  China  and 
Japan,  in  that  it  has  had  from  the  early  centuries  a  few 
representatives  of  Christianity  living  in  the  midst  of  its 
religions  and  unconsciously  leavening  them,  or  being 
leavened  thereby.  Moreover,  we  have  in  this  Empire  an 
illustration  of  the  varied  forms  of  Christianity  —  except 
the  Greek,  and  their  different  effects  upon  the  same  na- 
tive systems. 

I.    St.  Thomas  and  Pantaenus 

I.  Traditions.  —  Traditions  of  the  missionary  labors  of 
one  of  the  Twelve,  St.  Thomas,  have  for  centuries  existed 
in  India.  In  their  fullest  form  they  are  found  in  two  of  the 
apocryphal  books  of  the  New  Testament,  "  Acts  of  the 
Holy  Apostle  Thomas,"  and  "  Consummation  of  Thomas 
the  Apostle.'"  The  "  Acts,"  a  Gnostic  work  written  by 
Leucius,  does  not  go  back  farther  than  the  second  century 
and  is  manifestly  fanciful.  The  following  is  a  specimen 
of  the  book :  "  We  portioned  out  the  regions  of  the  world, 
in  order  that  each  one  of  us  might  go  into  the  region  to 
which  the  Lord  sent  him.  By  lot,  then,  India  fell  to 
Judas  Thomas,  also  called  Didymus.  And  he  did  not 
wish  to  go,  saying  that  he  was  not  able  to  go  on  account 
of  the  weakness  of  the  flesh ;  *  and  how  can  I,  being  an 
Hebrew    man,  go    among    the    Indians  to  proclaim    the 

'^The  Ante-Nicene  Fathers  (American  edition),  vol.  viii.,  pp.  535-552. 
M7 


148  INDIA   AMD   CHRisriAlN    OPruKTUNlTV 

truth  ? '  And  while  he  was  thus  reasoning  and  speak- 
ing, the  Savior  appeared  to  him  through  the  night  and 
said  to  him :  *  Fear  not,  Thomas ;  go  away  to  India  and 
proclaim  the»  Word,  for  my  grace  shall  be  with  thee.'  But 
he  did  not  obey,  saying :  *  Wherever  Thou  wishest  to 
send  me,  send  me  elsewhere;  for  to  the  Indians  I  am 
not  going.' "  The  following  day  Jesus  sold  Thomas  as 
a  slave  carpenter  to  one  Abbanes  from  India,  who  pur- 
chased him  for  his  king.  As  a  carpenter  he  was  not  to 
be  commended;  for,  being  bidden  to  build  a  palace  for 
the  king,  he  expended  the  money  on  the  relief  of  the 
poor.  His  missionary  efforts,  however,  were  crowned 
with  success.  In  both  Ea^t  and  West  Thomas's  name 
was  connected  with  India  from  the  fourth  century,  and 
the  Malabar  Christians  of  St.  Thomas  still  count  him  as 
the  first  martyr  and  evangelist  of  their  country.* 

2.  Explanations- —  The  Name  India.  —  These  tradi- 
tions and  others  of  later  date  are  not  believed  by 
most  reputable  scholars  of  to-day,  but  are  variously 
explained.  Some  would  account  for  them  by  the  in- 
definite use  of  the  term  India.  "  Ethiopia  and  Arabia 
Felix,  the  adjacent  Insula  Dioscoridis  —  Socotra  — 
were  designated  by  this  name.  These  countries,  how- 
ever, maintained  by  trade  a  lively  intercourse  with  India 
proper,  and  could  thus  furnish  a  channel  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  Christianity  in  the  latter.  Gregory  Nazianzen 
says  that  Thomas  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians, 
but  Jerome  understands  the  India  here  meant  to  be 
Ethiopia.  If  the  tradition  in  Origen,  which  makes 
Thomas  the  apostle  to  the  Parthians,  were  credible,  it 
would  not  be  so  very  remote  from  the  former  legend; 
since  the  Parthian  empire  touched,  at  that  time,  on  the 
boundaries  of  India."^     As  persistent  traditions  connect 

^  Hastings,  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  vol.  iv.,  p.  754. 
'  Neander,   General  History  of  the  Christian  Relipon  and   Church, 
vol,  «.,  p.  8a  (Boston  edition). 


CHRISTIAN  IT  V  IN   INDIA  149 

his  work  and  his  tomb  with  Persia/  this  last  explanation 
seems  probable. 

Different  Thomases.  —  Others  would  explain  the  tradi- 
tions by  the  stories  of  two  other  prominent  Thomases  who 
were  connected  with  the  early  Indian  Church,  one  a  Mani- 
chaean  who  was  in  India  toward  the  end  of  the  third  cen- 
tury, and  the  other  an  Armenian  of  the  eighth  century, 
who  was  a  restorer  of  their  faith.  On  his  death,  his 
memory  received  the  gradual  and  spontaneous  honors  of 
canonization  by  the  Christian  communities  for  whom  he 
had  labored,  and  his  name  became  identified  wuth  that  of 
the  apostle."'  Bernard  suggests  still  another  explanation. 
As  it  seems  probable  that  India  was  evangelized  through 
some  one  from  Edessa,  where  St.  Thomas's  grave  was 
located,  later  memories  connected  his  name  with  that  of 
Edessa's  famous  saint.'  Whatever  be  true  wnth  regard  to 
the  Apostle,  St.  Thomas's  Mount,  near  ^Madras,  has  for 
centuries  been  a  sacred  spot  among  Indian  Christians  of 
the  Syrian  Order. 

3.  Pantacnus.  —  The  end  of  the  second  century  brings 
us  to  "  the  first  historical  missionary  of  Christ  to  the 
peoples  of  India."*  Pantaenus,  the  Principal  of  the  Chris- 
tian College  at  Alexandria,  had  been  a  Stoic  of  Athens  or 
Sicily.  He  thus  possessed  intellectual  qualities  which, 
when  brought  into  captivity  to  Christ,  made  him  a  fit  in- 
strument to  lead  philosophical  Brahmans  to  Jesus'  feet. 
Added  to  an  acute  intellect  were  his  peculiar  power  as  a 
teacher  and  those  rare  opportunities  for  the  development 
of  pedagogical  ability  afforded  by  the  school  of  cate- 
chumens, wherein  he  taught  Christians  and  converted 
heathen  alike  the  facts  and  doctrines  of  Christianity. 
His  Didaskaleion  at  Alexandria  confronted  the  Serapeum, 

1  Eusebius,  Ecclesiastical  History,  i.,  13;  "»•,  i-  Socrates,  Ecclesias- 
tical History,  i.,  19;  iv.,  i8. 

-  Hunter,  The  Indian  Empire,  p.  281. 

»  Hastings,  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  voL  iv.,  p.  754. 

*  Smith,  Thf  Conversion  of  India,  p.  u. 


IgO  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITV 

as  truly  a  stronghold  of  the  cultured  heathenism  of  his 
time  as  is  the  Al  Azhar  of  Cairo  to-day.^  Thus  provi- 
dentially prepared  and  with  a  world-wide  reputation  as 
an  expositor  of  the  Scriptures,  he  was  sent  to  India, 
"  that  he  might  preach  Christ  among  the  Brahmans." 
Had  he  remained  there  all  his  life,  "  this  very  great 
Gnosticus,  who  had  penetrated  into  the  spirit  of  Scrip- 
ture," might  have  laid  foundations  that  would  have  with- 
stood the  subsequent  Christian  impact,  which  has  ever 
since  been  a  mixed  good  in  a  land  which  so  sorely  needed 
a  full  Gospel  and  a  Savior  wholly  divine.  One  char- 
acteristic fact  of  his  sojourn  there  is  his  account  of  a 
Hebrew  or  Aramaic  version  of  St.  Matthew,  which 
would  indicate  that  the  early  Christians  of  India  com- 
monly used  that  tongue. 

11.    Nestorians  and  the  Syrian  Church 

I.  Persian  Origins.  —  Whether  Pantaenus  won  many 
converts  or  not,  it  is  evident  that  a  century  later  Indian 
Christians  were  numerous.  At  the  Council  of  Nicea  in 
325  A.  D.,  Johannes,  the  Metropolitan  of  Persia,  also 
signed  himself  "  Of  the  Great  India,"  thus  indicating  ec- 
clesiastical jurisdiction  from  Persia.  Hence  it  is  not 
surprising  to  learn  that  soon  after  Nestorian  zeal  began 
to  disseminate  that  form  of  Christianity  throughout  East- 
ern and  Southern  Asia,  it  gave  color  to  Indian  views  of 
the  person  of  Christ  and  of  other  leading  doctrines  of 
Christianity.  "  In  the  fifth  century,"  writes  Sir  William 
Hunter,  "  Nestorianism,  driven  forth  from  Europe  and 
Africa,  became  definitely  the  doctrine  of  the  Asiatic 
Church,  and  Syriac  became  the  sacred  language  of  Chris- 
tian colonies  far  beyond  the  geographical  limits  of  Syria. 
Bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  from  Syria  spread  a  certain 
uniformity  in  matters  of  faith  and  ritual  through  Persia 

*  Smith,  The  Conversion  of  India,  p.   ij. 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   INDIA  I5t 

and  along  Persian  and  Arabian  sea-boards,  and  thence 
to  the  Christian  settlements  on  the  Indian  coasts.  It 
should  be  remembered,  therefore,  that  during  the  thou- 
sand years  when  Christianity  flourished  in  Asia,  from  the 
fifth  to  the  fifteenth  century,  it  was  the  Christianity  of 
Nestorius.'" 

2.  The  Middle  Ages.  —  During  the  Middle  Ages  In- 
dian Nestorians  sailed  on  troubled  seas.  Persecution  was 
their  lot  from  without,  while  within  the  St,  Thomas 
legends  finally  confounded  the  Apostle  with  Christ  Him- 
self, and  St.  Thomas's  Mount  was  as  holy  as  Calvary 
almost.  Persecution  was  not  their  invariable  lot,  how- 
ever, for  in  the  ninth  century  the  Malabar  Christians  pos- 
sessed all  the  rights  of  nobility  and  claimed  precedence 
over  the  Nair  aristocracy.  Still  later  they  and  the  heathen 
Nairs  "  supplied  the  body-guard  of  the  local  kings,  and 
the  Christian  caste  was  the  first  to  learn  the  use  of  gun- 
powder and  firearms.  They  thus  became  the  matchlock 
men  of  the  Indian  troops  of  Southern  India,  usually  placed 
in  the  van,  or  around  the  person  of  the  prince."^ 

3.  Dozvnfall  of  the  Nestorian  Church.  —  When  Vasco 
da  Gama  reached  India  in  1498,  he  found  the  Nestorian 
Christians  a  powerful  military  caste  and  highly  respected 
by  the  non-Christians.  It  so  happened  that  they  were 
most  numerous  in  the  very  province  where  the  Portuguese 
landed.  The  sight  of  Christians,  whom  Rome  regarded  as 
schismatics,  possessing  their  own  kings  and  chiefs  was  a 
challenge  thrown  at  the  feet  of  the  zealous  friars  who  ac- 
companied the  expedition.  As  it  was  not  easy  to  win 
them,  both  the  Jews  and  the  Nestorian  Christians  fell  vic- 
tims to  the  awful  barbarities  of  the  Goa  Inquisition.  In 
1599,  almost  forty  years  after  its  establishment,  the  Nes- 
torians had  yielded,  and  for  a  time  the  Church  ceased  to 
exist. 

*  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  286. 

*  Ibid,,  p.  291. 


152  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    Oi'PORTUNlTY 

4.  Revival.  —  This  enforced  obedience  was  soon  re- 
nounced, and  the  Portuguese  yielding  before  the  Dutch  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  the  Nestorians  gradually  resumed 
their  ecclesiastical  existence,  so  that  now  the  census  shows 
the  presence  of  571,327^  Christians  of  the  Syrian  order. 
At  present  they  are  divided  into  two  sects,  the  Syrian 
Catholics  and  the  New  Church,'  or  Jacobites.  While  they 
have  thus  had  a  continuous  existence  for  fourteen  cen- 
turies at  least  and  are  the  only  indigenous  Christian  com- 
munity in  India,  this  Church  has  never  been  a  very  influ- 
ential factor  in  the  nation's  life.  "  During  the  last  half 
century  it  has  been  considerably  influenced  by  the  work 
and  example  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  which  is 
established  in  that  region.  Through  this  influence  a  Re- 
formed Syrian  Church  has  come  into  existence,  which 
promises  to  do  much  for  the  whole  community  in  ideals 
and  life.  The  Syrian  Church  has  hitherto  been  greatly 
cursed  with  the  trinity  of  evils, —  ignorance,  ceremonial- 
ism, and  superstition.  It  was  not  until  1811  — at  the  sug- 
gestion of  an  Englishman  —  that  it  translated  part  of  the 
Bihle  —  the  four  Gospels  —  into  the  vernacular.  And  this 
is  the  only  translation  of  the  Scriptures  ever  made  and 
published  by  the  natives  of  India."^ 

5.  Crosses  and  Denials.  —  Three  ancient  Persian 
crosses  still  survive  in  Southern  India,  ranking  among  the 
oldest  relics  of  Christianity  in  Asia.  They  contain  the 
inscription  following:  "Let  me  not  glory  except  in  the 
cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  true  Messiah 
and  God  alone  and  Holy  Ghost."  Had  the  Church  been 
true  to  such  a  sentiment,  Dr.  Smith  could  not  have  penned 
these  words:  "What  Gibbon  wrote,  in  his  thirty-seventh 
chapter,  of  their  fathers  is  still  true  of  them.  The  Nes- 
torian  and  Eutychian  controversies,  which  attempted  to 
explain  the  mysteries  of  the  Incarnation,  hastened  the  ruin 

»  Statesman's   Year-Book,  1903,  p.   142. 
■  Jones,  India's  Problem,  p.  165. 


CHRISTIANITY   IN   INDIA  I53 

of  Christianity  in  her  native  land.  Because  their  faith 
was  weak,  their  message  mutilated,  their  intellect  dark- 
ened, and  their  life  selfish,  it  was  not  possible  for  the  col- 
onies of  Syrian  and  Persian  Christians,  dispersed  on  its 
southern  shores,  to  bring  India  to  Christ.  Unpurged  from 
the  old  leaven,  it  was  not  for  them  to  leaven  the  whole 
lump."^ 

III.    Catholic  Missions  in  India 

I.  Rome's  Pioneers.  —  John  of  Monte  Corvino,  the 
apostle  to  China,  was  apparently  the  first  Roman  mission- 
ary to  India.  "  He  seems  to  have  appeared  first  in  Persia, 
in  the  city  of  Tabriz.  From  Persia  he  traveled  in  the 
year  1291  to  India,  where  he  remained  thirteen  months. 
He  was  accompanied  by  the  Dominican,  Nicholas  de  Pis- 
torio,  who  died  there.  In  different  districts,  he  succeeded 
in  baptizing  a  hundred  persons;  and  in  the  second  letter 
which  he  wrote  to  Europe,  he  declared  it  as  his  belief  that 
*  great  results  might  be  expected  to  follow  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  in  those  regions,  if  substantial  men  of  the 
order  of  the  Dominicans  or  Franciscans  would  come 
there.' "' 

Jordanus.  —  One  such  Dominican  as  John  desired  did 
a  noble  work  in  India,  Jordanus,  author  of  the  Mirahilia 
Dcscripta,  describing  the  wonders  of  the  East.  While  he 
was  laboring  there,  more  than  ten  thousand  were  con- 
verted to  the  Catholic  faith  through  the  fervent  and  faith- 
ful preaching  of  its  tenets.  His  spirit  is  indicated  by  these 
extracts  from  his  pen :  "  Because  we,  being  few  in  num- 
ber, could  not  occupy  or  even  visit  many  parts  of  the  land, 
many  souls  —  wo  is  me  ! —  have  perished,  and  exceeding 
many  perish   for  lack  of  preachers  of  the  word  of  the 

^  Smith,  The  Conversion  of  India,  pp.   30,  31. 

^Neander,  General  History  of  the  Christian  Religion  and  Church, 
vol.   iv.,  p.    56    (Boston   edition). 


154  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

Lord."  "  How  many  times  I  have  had  my  hair  plucked 
out  and  been  scourged  and  been  stoned  God  Himself 
knoweth;  and  I  who  had  to  bear  all  this  for  my  sins,  yet 
have  not  attained  to  end  my  life  as  a  martyr  for  the  faith, 
as  did  four  of  my  brethren.  Nay,  five  preaching  friars 
and  four  minors  were  there  in  my  time  cruelly  slain  for 
the  Catholic  faith.  Wo  is  me,  that  I  was  not  with  them 
there  !"^ 

2.  Francis  Xavier.  —  Catholicism's  most  illustrious 
missionary,  the  famous  Jesuit  Francis  Xavier,  did  his 
great  work  for  India  nearly  four  centuries  ago.  He 
burned  out  his  brief  Indian  life,  not  with  miracle-work- 
ing, as  certain  of  his  "  unwise  biographers  "  would  have 
us  believe,  but  in  incessant  and  laborious  efforts  to  bring 
the  forms  of  Christianity  to  a  people  w^ho  could  not  under- 
stand his  message  nor  the  symbolism  of  his  rites.  And  he 
did  something  besides  ring  his  bell  through  the  villages 
and  proclaim  a  misunderstood  Gospel.  His  practical 
charity,  exhibited  in  hospitals  and  in  the  abodes  of  death ; 
his  tireless  efforts  to  reform  godless  Europeans  and  their 
heathen  wives,  baptized  forcibly  by  Albuquerque's  order; 
his  endeavor  to  establish  a  college  to  train  native  preach- 
ers who  should  later  go  forth  to  evangelize  their  country- 
men; divine  aspirations  after  a  hoHer  life  and  greater 
nearness  to  his  Savior ;  —  these  are  features  of  the  life  of 
India's  apostle  which  were  a  permanent  contribution  to 
the  cause  of  Christianity. 

3.  Malabar  Rites.  —  Empty  as  were  many  of  Xavier's 
forms  and  superficial  as  was  his  system  of  evangelizing, 
they  were  at  least  sincere,  even  if  he  finally  left  the  coun- 
try in  disgust,  "  disheartened  by  the  innumerable  obstacles 
he  everywhere  met  in  his  apostolic  career  and  by  the 
apparent  impossibility  of  making  any  real  converts."' 
When  one  reads  of  the  horrors  of  Archbishop  Menezes's 

'^  Smith,  Conversion  of  India,  p.  40. 

•Abbe  Dubois,  quoted  by  Smith,  Conversion  of  India,  p.  64. 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   INDIA  155 

Inquisition  and  the  chicanery  and  fraud  of  the  Malabar 
rites,  however,  the  foundations  upon  which  much  of 
Rome's  success  have  depended  are  laid  bare.  Caste  was 
catered  to;  Hindu  terms  were  assumed  when  not  true  of 
the  user;  and  the  acted  and  spoken  lie  of  Robert  de 
Nobili,  whereby  he  personated  a  holy  ascetic  from  a  dis- 
tant region,  with  the  forging  of  a  fifth  Veda  to  support 
their  pretensions,  carried  on  the  unholy  drama.  It  should 
be  added  that  much  of  this  was  done  contrary  to  the  com- 
mand of  Rome,  and  mainly  by  members  of  the  Jesuit  Order. 

4.  Priests  at  Work.  —  The  daily  life  of  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries of  to-day  is  thus  described:  "The  missioner's 
habitual  life  is  to  travel  from  village  to  village  to  admin- 
ister the  Holy  Sacrament  to  his  people.  At  all  those  vil- 
lages, when  he  makes  a  casual  or  an  annual  visit,  he  is  re- 
ceived with  triumph  by  the  assembled  Christians,  who 
come  out  to  meet  him  with  flags  and  native  music  and 
conduct  him  to  the  church  or  chapel,  where,  after  the  first 
usual  prayer,  he  announces  to  the  people  the  length  of  his 
stay,  the  order  of  the  prayers  and  duties  of  each  day,  and 
then  gives  a  fervent  exhortation  to  profit  by  his  presence 
and  approach  the  Sacraments  worthily. 

Order  of  the  Days.  —  "  The  following  is  the  usual  order 
of  the  day  in  a  village  visitation.  At  three  in  the  after- 
noon the  catechist  assembles  all  those  who  are  preparing 
for  the  Sacraments  and  reads  to  them  a  Preparation  for 
Confession,  which  explains  the  whole  of  the  dogmatic  be- 
lief and  also  is  mixed  with  fervent  prayers  to  excite  the 
necessary  sentiments  in  the  soul.  The  missionary  then 
gives  a  public  instruction,  explaining  the  guilt  of  sin  and 
exhorting  to  contrition  and  amendment,  and  shows  some 
striking  pictures  representing  death,  judgment,  hell,  and 
heaven,  and  the  judgments  of  God  upon  sinners.  The 
pictures  often  produce  more  effect  upon  their  minds  than 
the  most  fervent  exhortations;  and  when  they  are  well 
impressed  with  their  meaning,  he  shows  them  the  crucifix 


156  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

and  explains  how  our  merciful  Lord,  by  His  death  and 
suffering,  has  redeemed  us  all,  and  gives  us  all  grace,  if 
we  only  choose  to  avail  ourselves  of  His  mercy.  He 
speaks  to  them  of  the  love  of  Christ,  of  the  infinite  merits 
of  His  precious  Blood  communicated  to  us  in  the  Holy 
Sacraments.  Then  the  Act  of  Contrition  and  other  beau- 
tiful Tamil  prayers,  written  by  the  ancient  missionaries, 
are  recited.  Then  the  confessions  begin  and  continue 
often  till  midnight,  to  be  renewed  again  in  the  earliest 
morning  before  Mass.  At  sunrise  in  the  morning  the  bell 
rings  to  call  the  people  to  Mass ;  and  before  it  begins,  the 
catechist  reads  the  prayers  and  instructions  for  the  Holy 
Communion,  which  are  followed  by  an  instruction  by  the 
priest  himself.  During  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  the  Acts  of 
Faith,  Hope,  Charity,  and  Contrition  are  recited  aloud  by 
the  catechist  to  prepare  the  people  for  receiving  the  Body 
and  Blood  of  our  Blessed  Lord  in  Holy  Communion. 
After  Mass  there  is  another  exhortation  to  encourage  all 
who  have  approached  the  holy  table  to  piety  and  persever- 
ance. At  9  A.  M.  the  missioner  takes  his  own  meager 
breakfast  and  says  his  own  prayers  and  office,  and  rests 
a  little.  In  the  afternoon  he  receives  the  visits  of  all  those 
who  wish  to  speak  to  him  or  ask  his  advice ;  he  settles  all 
the  disputes  and  difficulties  which  may  be  brought  to  his 
notice  by  the  catechist  or  elders  of  the  village.  He  also 
receives  the  visits  and  examines  the  motives  and  conduct 
of  those  who  wish  to  become  Christians,  and  appoints  and 
arranges  due  means  of  their  instruction;  or  else  on  an- 
other day  he  baptizes  the  children,  examines  the  progress 
in  catechism  and  performs  the  marriages.  Thus  in  full 
employment,  with  little  spare  time,  the  week  or  ten  days 
spent  in  the  village  pass  by;  and  when  the  work  is  done  the 
Father  goes  to  another  to  recommence  the  same  labor."* 
5.  Character  of  the  Converts.  —  While  some  of  the 
Catholic  missionaries,  as  Abbe  Dubois,  have  very  strongly 

*  Catholic  Missions  in  Southern  India,  pp.   78-80, 


CHRISTIANITY   IN   INDIA  15/ 

written  concerning  the  defects  of  their  converts,  the  fol- 
lowing  statement,  mainly  compiled  from  Catholic  writings, 
gives  one  an  idea  of  the  ordinary  converts :  "  The  converts 
are  now  to  be  found  in  certain  districts  of  South  India,  in 
Madura,  Trichinopoly,  Tan j ore,  and  other  places.  These 
Catholic  Christians,  as  they  call  themselves,  are  living 
monuments  to  attest  the  Jesuit  policy  louder  than  Pascal's 
letters  or  European  proverbs.  They  wear  marks  on  their 
foreheads,  as  their  heathen  neighbors  do,  go  to  Hindu 
temples  on  festival  occasions,  and  bow  down  before  the 
images  of  pagan  gods,  while  perhaps  they  inwardly  repeat 
Paters  and  Aves.  Part  of  their  marriage  ceremony  is  per- 
formed in  the  Christian  chapel,  and  the  couple  is  blessed 
by  the  Catholic  priest.  When  this  is  done  they  go  home, 
kindle  a  fire  and  walk  round  it,  tie  the  wedding  knot 
in  the  presence  of  Agni,  and  call  upon  that  fire  god  to 
witness  the  solemn  contract.  Their  church  is  divided  into 
compartments,  so  that  the  high-class  Christians  may  wor- 
ship the  image  of  Him  who  was  the  friend  of  outcasts, 
without  being  contaminated  by  the  touch  of  the  low- 
caste  worshipers.  .  .  .  Three  hundred  years  of  Chris- 
tianity has  left 'them  only  where  it  found  them  —  the  slaves 
of  Brahman  superstition  and  of  Brahman  fraud.  Their 
condition  is  worse  than  that  of  the  Samaritans  described 
in  the  Second  Books  of  Kings,  *  Who  feared  the  Lord  and 
worshiped  their  own  strange  gods.'  "^ 

6.  Some  Differences.  —  Catholic  missionaries,  like  the 
Protestants,  devote  great  attention  to  girls*  boarding 
schools  taught  by  nuns  and  furnishing  a  good  education  at 
a  low  rate.  This  has  resulted  in  gaining  a  number  of  con- 
verts from  among  Protestants.  Their  higher  institutions 
at  Calcutta,  Bombay,  Trichinopoli  and  Mangalore  are  of  a 
high  order.  The  press  is  not  employed  as  in  Protestant 
missions  as  an  aggressive  agency,  and  there  is  no  circula- 
tion of  tracts.  Most  of  the  books  printed  are  of  a  devo- 
^  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  April,  1891,  pp.  248,  249. 


158  INDIA   AND   CHRlSTfAN    OPPORTUNITY 

tional  and  practical  character.  Controversial  writings  are 
with  few  exceptions  directed  against  Protestantism.  They 
receive  considerable  additions  through  marriage,  it  being 
often  stipulated  that  the  contracting  parties  of  other  creeds 
shall  become  Catholics,  or  else  that  the  children  shall  be 
brought  up  in  that  faith.  Other  accessions  are  gained 
from  heathen  who,  in  illness,  make  vows  to  some  saint, 
binding  themselves  to  become  Roman  Catholics  if  they  re- 
cover. While  it  is  often  agreed  that  the  expense  of  Cath- 
olic missions  is  less  than  that  of  the  Protestant  societies, 
since  wives  and  families  do  not  require  support,  and 
though  the  missionary  suffers  less  interruption  in  his 
work,  it  should  be  remembered  that  Catholic  missions  lose 
the  immense  advantage  of  women  workers,  save  in  the 
case  of  nuns.  They  also  lose  the  example  and  influence 
of  the  Christian  family/ 

7.  Present  Strength.  —  According  to  the  last  census, 
forty-two  per  cent,  of  the  entire  native  Christian  Church 
was  Roman  Catholic,  the  number  being  1,122,378  out  of  a 
total  Catholic  population  of  1,202,039.  The  remaining 
Catholics  are  mainly  in  the  British  army  or  else  are  Eura- 
sians in  the  three  Presidency  cities.  As  the  census  of  1891 
shows  a  total  of  1,315,263  Catholics,  of  whom  1,244,283' 
vv^ere  natives,  the  decrease  in  the  total  Catholic  population 
of  India,  not  including  the  French  and  Portuguese  col- 
onies, was  more  than  eight  and  a  half  per  cent,  for  the 
years  1891-1901.  The  decrease  in  the  native  Catholic  pop- 
ulation for  the  same  period  was  almost  ten  per  cent.  Dur- 
ing the  same  decade  Christians  of  every  name,  including 
Catholics,  had  increased  about  twenty-eight  per  cent.;  or 
omitting  the  Catholics,  whose  number  decreased  during 
the  period,  all  other  Christians  increased  more  than  sev- 
enty-seven per  cent.     Yet  this  numerical  decrease  over- 

^  The  Missionary  Conference,  South  India  and  Ceylon,  z8^g,  vol.  ii., 

P-  339. 

2  Hunter,  Indian  Evipirc,  pp.  311,  312, 


CHRISTIANITY   IN   INDIA  I59 

looks  the  value  of  Rome's  services  to  India.  Sir  William 
Hunter,  writing  of  the  Propaganda  section  of  the  mission- 
aries, says,  "  Their  influence  reaches  deep  into  the  life  of 
the  communities  among  whom  they  dwell."^  In  estimating 
the  value  of  Catholic  labors  in  India,  this  distinction  be- 
tween the  work  of  the  Jesuits,  particularly  those  of  earlier 
days,  and  that  of  other  Orders  at  the  present  time,  should 
not  be  forgotten. 

8.  Defects.  —  Another  writer,  who  has  seen  much  of 
the  missionaries  and  their  work  in  South  India,  speaks 
thus  of  weaknesses  of  the  Catholic  enterprise  in  the  Em- 
pire: "The  marked  defects  of  Romanism  in  that  land 
have  been  its  concessions  to,  and  compromise  with,  the  re- 
ligion of  the  land,  both  on  the  side  of  idolatrous  worship 
and  of  caste  observance.  I  have  discussed  the  subject 
with  Indian  Roman  Catholics  in  the  villages  and  find  that 
to  them  the  worship  of  saints,  through  their  many  obtru- 
sive images,  is  practically  the  same  as  the  idolatry  of  the 
Hindus,  the  only  marked  difference  being  in  the  greater 
size  of  the  Romish  images !  In  like  manner  the  Jesuit  has 
adopted  and  incorporated  into  his  religion  for  the  people 
of  that  land,  the  Hindu  caste  system  with  all  its  hideous 
unchristian  divisions.  All  this  makes  the  bridge  which 
separates  Hinduism  from  Roman  Catholic  Christianity  a 
very  narrow  one;  and  it  reduces  to  a  minimum  the  process 
of  conversion  from  the  former  faith  to  the  latter.  But  an 
easy  path  from  Hinduism  to  Christianity  means  an  equally 
facile  way  of  return  to  the  ancestral  faith.  If  the  Hindu 
has  little  to  surrender  in  becoming  a  Christian,  neither  has 
such  a  Christian  any  serious  obstacle  to  prevent  his  return 
to  Hindu  gods  and  ceremonies,  when  it  suits  his  conven- 
ience to  do  so.  Hence  it  is  that  the  new  accessions  to 
Romanism  hardly  exceed  the  number  of  those  who  leave  it 
in  order  to  resume  their  allegiance  to  the  faith."* 

^  Hunter,  Indian  Empire,  p.  313. 
'Jones,  India's  Problem,  pp.   167,  168, 


l60  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 


IV.   Early  Dutch  Protestant  Effort 

1.  Work  Done.  —  The  Dutch  East  India  Company  was 
the  first  Protestant  power  to  establish  posts  in  India 
proper.  Before  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  it 
was  trading  on  the  mainland,  and  in  1652  it  had  built  the 
first  Indian  factory  at  Palakollu  on  the  southeast  coast. 
In  its  few  settlements,  extending  from  Cochin  on  the 
southwest  to  Chinsurah,  north  of  Calcutta,  it  seems  prob- 
able that  some  efforts  were  made  to  evangelize  the  people ; 
since  the  company  "  was  distinctly  bound  by  its  state  char- 
ter to  care  for  the  planting  of  the  Church  and  the  conver- 
sion of  the  heathen  in  the  newly  won  possessions.  Proba- 
bly this  was  due  to  the  remembrance  of  the  converting 
activity  of  the  Portuguese  during  their  earlier  dominion 
in  the  colonies;  and  perhaps  its  aim,  in  the  first  instance, 
was  the  winning  of  the  outwardly  Romanized  natives  for 
Protestantism.  At  the  same  time,  the  Protestant  doctrine 
of  the  church  power  of  civil  rulers  materially  influenced 
such  a  conception  of  missions."^  Whatever  work  was  done 
was  undoubtedly  of  a  piece  with  that  carried  on  in  Ceylon, 
where  force  or  worldly  benefits  practically  compelled  con- 
version, and  where  "  in  every  village  the  schoolhouse  be- 
came the  church,  and  the  schoolmaster  the  registrar  of 
documents  involving  the  rights  and  succession  to  property. 
The  number  of  children  under  instruction  and  baptized 
rose  to  85,000.  Nowhere  was  there  any  evidence  of  genu- 
ine conversion,  nor  were  there  missionaries  sufficient  to 
give  simple  instruction  in  Christian  truth.'" 

2.  Warnings.  —  From  the  Ceylon  work  of  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company  and  the  efforts  in  India,  the  Chris- 
tian Church  may  learn  valuable  lessons.  When  its  power 
was  growing  in  the  island  world  of  Southeastern  Asia, 

*  Warneck,   Outline  of  a   History  of  Protestant  Missions,  p.  43. 

•  Smith,  Conversion  of  India,  pp.  78,  79, 


CHRISTIANITY   IN   INDIA  l6l 

Professor  Walaeus  established  at  Leyden  his  Indian  Sem- 
inary for  the  proper  preparation  of  missionary  candidates. 
After  twelve  years  it  was  discontinued,  partly  because  of 
the  expense  to  the  Company, —  which  argument  was  not 
met  by  the  Reformed  Church  with  contributions  to  carry  it 
on, —  and  partly  because  the  students  "  addressed  them- 
selves more  to  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  than  suited 
the  colonial  program  of  the  Company."^  It  is  not  surpris- 
ing, therefore,  that  few  of  the  later  men  had  little  enthu- 
siasm in  the  work,  and  that  the  majority  of  them  left  the 
field  on  the  expiration  of  their  five-years'  contract  with 
the  Company.  Dr.  George  Smith,  in  accounting  for  the 
failure  of  early  Dutch  missions,  lays  stress  on  means 
which  the  missionaries  practically  neglected.  "  The  watch- 
words of  the  missionary  must  be  these, —  the  vernacular 
Bible,  vernacular  preaching,  daily  teaching,  the  conversion 
of  the  individual,  that  he  may  in  turn  aggressively  propa- 
gate the  faith  which  he  has  received."^  The  opposite 
course  produced  then,  as  it  has  later  and  elsewhere,  what 
the  Amsterdam  Classis  of  that  day  called  sine  Christo 
Christiani, —  Christless  Christians. 

V.  The  Danish-Halle  Pioneers 

I.  Ziegenbalg,  Plufschau,  and  Grilndler.  —  The  first 
Protestant  missionaries  from  Europe  to  do  effective  work 
in  India  were  two  German  Pietists,  Ziegenbalg  and  Pliit- 
schau,  sent  out  by  Denmark's  King,  Frederick  IV. 
Though  the  Danish  East  India  Company  had  held  Indian 
territory  for  eighty- five  years,  until  these  two. missionaries 
arrived  in  1706,  nothing  of  importance  "had  been  done  for 
their  heathen  charges.  While  Ziegenbalg  was  ably  sec- 
onded by  Pliitschau  and  Griindler,  he  was  the  strongest  of 
the  trio  in  most  respects.    In  a  letter  to  Chaplain  Lewis  of 

^  Warneck,  Outline  of  a  History  of  Protestant  Missions,  f>.  44. 
'  Smith,   Conversion  of  India,  p.   80, 


l62  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

the  Honorable  East  India  Company,  written  nearly  seven 
years  after  their  arrival,  we  find  a  surprising  account  of 
what  had  so  soon  been  accomplished.  Their  five  charity 
schools  were  in  successful  operation  and  were  apparently 
fulfilling  their  threefold  purpose,  namely:  "  The  laying  of 
a  foundation  of  true  Christianity  in  tender  souls;  the  prep- 
aration of  disciples  for  the  future  service  of  Christ's 
Church;  the  bringing  in  the  use  of  books  among  Chris- 
tians in  the  East  Indies.'"  During  the  last  six  years  re- 
ported in  this  same  letter  the  missionaries  had  written  or 
translated  no  less  than  thirty-two  productions  in  the 
"  Malabarick  language,"  and  ten  in  Portuguese,  among 
them  being  three  dictionaries,  three  volumes  of  sermons, 
two  hymn-books,  an  arithmetic,  a  spelling-book,  and  a 
grammar.    Most  of  them  were  religious  books,  however. 

Phenomenal  Results.  —  After  being  in  India  less  than 
five  years,  Ziegenbalg  had  translated  the  entire  New  Tes- 
tament into  Tamil  and,  at  the  ':ime  of  his  death  in  1719, 
the  Old  Testament  as  far  as  Ruth.  The  activity  of  the 
first  two  workers  may  be  judged  by  other  labors  of  theirs 
after  only  three  years'  service.  "  Schools  had  been  estab- 
lished; the  slaves  of  the  settlement  were  assembled  for 
religious  instruction  two  hours  daily;  the  German  and 
Portuguese  residents  were  invited  to  divine  service  held 
regularly  in  their  behalf;  a  class  of  catechumens,  gathered 
from  the  heathen,  Avas  being  trained  in  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel  preparatory  to  baptism;  converts  increased  rapidly; 
a  church  had  been  erected  for  the  native  congregation; 
conferences  had  been  held  with  Hindus  and  Mohamme- 
dans; preaching  excursions  had  been  made  into  the  coun- 
try as  far  as  Negapatam.  .  .  .  Three  years  and  a  half 
after  the  arrival  of  the  first  missionaries,  the  native  com- 
numity  numbered  160  persons,  an  amount  of  success  truly 
astonishing,    considering    the    gigantic    obstacles    against 

^  Ziegenbalg   and    Griindler,    A    Letter    to    the    Reverend    Mr,    Geo. 

Lcxvis,  p.  32, 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  INDIA  163 

which  they  had  to  contend."*  'Ziegenbalg's  return  to 
Europe  and  his  appearance  unannounced  before  his  mon- 
arch at  the  siege  of  Stralsund  was  dramatic  in  the  ex- 
treme,'' and  hardly  less  noteworthy  was  his  visit  to  George 
the  First  of  England,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the 
Bishop  of  London,  and  other  distinguished  personages. 

Zicgcnhalg's  Motto.  —  The  secret  of  this  phenomenal 
activity,  of  which  Ziegenbalg  was  the  leading  spirit,  he 
thus  quaintly  reveals:  It  has  oftentimes  made  a  com- 
fortable Impression  on  my  Mind,  what  Mr.  N.  left  me  for 
a  Memorial  in  my  Paper-Book  to  this  Effect:  Ideo  nos 
facti  sumtts  Christiani,  ut  plus  de  fiitura,  qiiam  de  hac 
Vita  laborcuius,  '  For  this  reason  we  are  made  Christians, 
that  we  should  be  more  bent  upon  the  Life  to  come,  than 
upon  the  Present.'  This  is  my  daily  Memorandum,  lest 
I  should  perhaps  forget,  entirely  to  consecrate  my  Life  and 
Actions  to  an  invisible  Eternity,  minding  little  the  World 
either  in  its  Glory  and  Smiles,  or  in  its  Frowns  and 
Afflictions.'" 

2.  Schzvartz.  —  These  early  men  had  worthy  successors 
in  such  missionaries  as  Schultze,  "  a  self-willed  man," 
Kiernander,  later  the  distinguished  founder  of  the  work  in 
Calcutta,  the  tireless  itinerant,  Gericke,  and  the  talented 
linguist,  Fabricius.  No  man  of  that  entire  Danish-Halle 
company  can  compare,  however,  with  Christian  Friedrich 
Schwartz, —  "a  star  of  the  first  magnitude,"  as  Professor 
Warneck  so  justly  calls  him.  Arriving  in  South  India 
in  1750,  his  abilities  w^ere  such  that  in  a  few  months  he 
was  as  "  busily  engaged  in  missionary  work,  as  though  he 
had  been  for  years  accustomed  to  it.  He  sets  an  excellent 
example  to  all  young  missionaries  by  commencing  with  a 

*  Shemng,  History  of  Protestant  Missions  in  India,  p.   3. 

-  See  W,  F.  Stevenson's  "  Last  Years  of  Ziegenbalg "  in  Coed 
Words  for  December,  1872. 

^Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  the  East:  Being  an  Account  of  the 
Success  of  Two  Danish  Missionaries  Lately  Sent  to  the  East  Indies, 
p.   55. 


164  IxXDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

daily  catechetical  class,  attended  by  children  of  tender  age. 
He  says  characteristically :  '  Soon  after  the  commence- 
ment of  the  new  year,  I  began  a  catechetical  hour  in  the 
Tamil  or  Malabar  school,  with  the  youngest  lambs,  and 
thus  I  learned  to  stammer  with  them.  At  the  same  time 
I  made  almost  daily  excursions  and  spoke  with  Christians 
and  heathens;  though,  as  may  be  easily  conceived,  poorly 
and  falteringly.'  "^  His  incessant  and  important  labors  as 
philanthropist,  statesman,  and  Christian  missionary  are 
only  hinted  at  in  the  inscription  on  his  tomb  at  Tanjore: 

To    the    memory    of    the 

REV.    CHRISTIAN    FRIEDRICH    SCHWARTZ, 

Born  Sonnenbiirg,  of  Neumark,  in  the  kingdom  of 

Prussia, 

The   28th   October,    1726, 

And  died  at  Tanjore  the  13th  February,  1798, 

In  the  72nd  year  of  his  age. 

Devoted  from  his  early  manhood  to  the  office  of 

Missionary    in    the    East, 

The   similarity   of   his   situation   to   that   of 

The    first    preachers    of    the    gospel 

Produced    in    him    a    peculiar    resemblance    to 

The  simple  sanctity  of  the 

Apostolic    character. 

His   natural  vivacity  won   the   affection 

As    his    unspotted    probity    and    purity    of   life 

Alike  commanded  the  reverence  of  the 

Christian,   Mohammedan,  and   Hindu  : 

For  sovereign  princes,   Hindu  and  IMohammedan, 

Selected  this  humble  pastor 

As  the  medium  of  political  negotiation  with 

The  British  Government ; 

And  the  very  marble  that  here  records  his  virtues 

Was    raised    by 

The  liberal  affection  and  esteem   of  the 

Rajah  of  Tanjore, 

Maha     Rajah     Serf  ogee. 

*  Sherring,  History  of  Protestant  Missions  in  India,  p.  20. 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  INDIA  165 

3.  Defects  of  the  Danish-Halle  Mission.  —  Almost  from 
the  outset  the  Danish-Halle  mission  became  still  further 
international,  in  that  its  support  came  largely  from  Eng- 
land. Indeed,  the  labors  of  its  missionaries  might  be  more 
appropriately  considered  under  the  Society  for  the  Propa- 
gation of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  the  Society  for 
Promoting  Christian  Knowledge  especially,  and  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  and  the  Leipsic  Missionary 
Society,  which  ultimately  took  over  the  workers  and  the 
property  of  the  Mission.  The  Danish  King  declined  to 
render  financial  aid  in  1825  at  a  time  when  the  rational- 
izing tendencies  of  the  King's  College  had  seriously  ham- 
pered the  work,  and  thenceforward  it  was  no  longer  Da- 
nish, despite  its  nominal  existence  as  such  until  1845.  The 
missionaries  of  this  society  were  careful  to  emphasize  in- 
struction and  cared  for  their  new  converts  fairly  well; 
they  gave  the  people  the  Bihle  in  the  vernacular,  besides 
an  abundance  of  helpful  literature ;  in  many  cases  they  set 
a  godly  example  before  the  people.  What  they  did  not  do 
was  to  develop  the  native  Church,  refusing  for  decades  to 
place  a  native  in  charge  of  the  congregations  and  when  at 
last  they  broke  over  the  rule,  appointing  too  few  for  care- 
ful oversight.  Worse  than  this  error  of  judgment  was  their 
attitude  toward  caste,  in  which  they  were  followers  of 
the  Romanists.  The  effect  of  lax  discipline  and  temporiz- 
ing policies  is  evident  from  the  fact  that,  although  during 
the  eighteenth  century  they  had  had  on  the  field  some  fifty 
missionaries  and  had  won  about  50,000  converts,  their 
work  had  taken  no  firm  root;  and  hence  it  largely  disap- 
peared during  the  following  century.  It  is  probably  true, 
especially  of  the  later  missionaries,  that  heart  religion  was 
almost  wanting.  Even  of  Kiernander  Charles  Grant  could 
write :  "  I  was  brought  under  deep  concern  about  the  state 
of  my  soul.  There  was  no  person  then  living  there  from 
whom  I  could  obtain  any  information  as  to  the  way  of  a 
sinner's  salvation."    After  the  veteran  came  to  Calcutta 


l66  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNItV 

Grant  applied  to  him.  ''  My  anxious  inquiries  as  to  what 
I  should  do  to  be  saved  appeared  to  embarrass  and  con- 
fuse him  exceedingly;  and  when  I  left  him,  the  perspira- 
tion was  running  down  his  face  in  consequence,  as  it  ap- 
peared to  me,  of  his  mental  distress.  He  could  not  answer 
my  questions."^  With  incompetent  guides,  some  of  them 
holding  to  a  merely  human  Jesus,  the  work  could  hardly 
survive  in  strength. 

VI.   The  Anglo-Saxon  Beginnings 

I.  East  India  Company  —  A  Forerunner.  —  The  Dutch 
East  India  Company  had  failed  to  accomplish  much  in  the 
uplifting  of  India.  Its  sister  Company  from  England 
greatly  hindered  the  cause  of  true  religion;  though  its 
beneficial  effects,  through  development  of  trade  and  the 
political  and  administrative  activities  of  the  Company,  and 
through  its  legislation,  exceeded  its  harmful  influence. 
As  George  Smith  writes,  "  It  was  used  by  the  Sovereign 
Ruler  of  the  human  race  to  prepare  the  way  and  open  wide 
the  door  for  the  first  hopeful  and  ultimately  assuredly  suc- 
cessful attempt,  since  the  Apostolic  Church  swept  away 
paganism,  to  destroy  the  idolatrous  and  Musalman  cults 
of  Asia."* 

Its  Chaplains.  —  The  East  India  Company's  helpful  ser- 
vice to  Christianity  lay  in  its  providing  chaplains  for  its 
wards,  native  as  well  as  British.  Not  a  few  of  these  were 
thus  described  by  Lord  Teignmouth  in  1795 :  "  Our  clergy 
in  Bengal,  with  some  exceptions,  are  not  respectable  char- 
acters. Their  situation  is  arduous,  considering  the  general 
relaxation  of  morals,  from  which  a  black  coat  is  no  se- 
curity.*" Some  of  them,  however,  were  important  factors 
in  India's  early  evangelization.  Among  these  were  David 
Brown,  preacher  to  the  elite  of  Calcutta  society,  who  se- 

*  Smith,   Conversion   of   India,  p.  97. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  85. 
^  »Ibid.,  p.  94- 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   INDIA  i6j 

cured  for  Carey  his  professorship  in  Fort  WiUiam  Col- 
lege; Claudius  Buchanan,  whose  Christian  ResearcJies  in 
Asia,  together  with  Brown's  plan,  drawn  np  in  1788,  for 
a  Church  mission  in  India,  gave  birth  to  the  greatest  of 
Protestant  missionary  organizations,  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society;  Henry  Mar^yw,  "saint  and  scholar," whose  de- 
votion, fervid  zeal,  and  deep  spirituality  have  led  as  many 
»  to  become  missionaries  as  David  Brainerd's  flaming  life; 
Daniel  Corric,  Martyn's  friend  and  successor,  who  later 
became  the  first  Bishop  of  Madras;  and  Thomas  Thonia- 
son,  a  Bible  translator  and  the  father  of  a  later  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of  the  Northwest  Provinces,  to  whom 
"  almost  all  the  great  officials  and  civilians  of  North  In- 
dia owed  their  impulse  in  favor  of  missions."^  Dr. 
Warneck  says  of  these  five  chaplains :  "  By  their  per- 
sonal piety  and  their  biblical  preaching,  by  courageously 
exposing  and  contending  against  the  wretched  circum- 
stances of  India,  by  their  positive  proposals  for  ameliora- 
tion, and  their  open  advocacy  of  the  calumniated  and  per- 
secuted missionaries,  these  men  rendered  pioneer  service 
of  the  most  effective  character  to  Christianity,  to  the 
Anglican  Church,  and  to  evangelical  missions  in  India."^ 

Christian  Laymen.  —  Among  the  secular  officials  of  the 
Company  were  a  number  of  men  of  high  character  and 
true  missionary  spirit.  Such  were  Charles  Grant,  George 
Udny,  and  William  Chambers.  Grant  had  so  great  influ- 
ence with  Lord  Cornwallis  and  was  so  at  one  with  Wilber- 
force  at  home,  that  in  1813  India's  Magna  Charta  of  mis- 
sions and  of  popular  education  was  passed  by  Parliament. 
It  was  Udny  who  gave  Carey  asylum,  when  he  was  in 
great  need  of  a  friend;  while  Chambers  as  the  Company's 
official  Persian  interpreter,  began  a  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  before  any  of  the  Serampore  trio  had  landed  in 
the  country.       ""~ 

'  ^  Bliss,  Encyclopaedia  of  Missions,  vol.  i.,  p.  291. 
*  Warneck,  Outline  of  a  History  of  Protestant  Missions,  p.   253^ 


l68  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

Legislation.  —  While  It  is  true  that  the  Company  was 
often  hostile  to  religion,  a  prevalent  charge  against  it  is 
not  well  founded.  The  charge  as  commonly  printed^  does 
not  even  express  the  statement  of  Mr.  Bensley,  one  of  the 
Directors,  whose  intemperate  outburst  did  not  receive  the 
support  of  his  fellow  Directors.  As  an  offset  to  the  Com- 
pany's lukewarmness  and  opposition  to  missions  should  be 
placed  its  beneficent  legislation.  "  At  no  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Christian  Church,  not  even  in  the  brilliant  cen- 
tury of  legislation  from  Constantine's  edict  of  toleration 
to  the  Theodosian  code,  has  Christianity  been  the  means 
of  abolishing  so  many  inhuman  customs  and  crimes  as 
were  suppressed  in  India  by  the  Company's  Regulations 
and  Acts  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
Christlike  work  kept  rapid  step  with  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tian opinion  and  beneficent  reforms  in  Great  Britain ;  but 
it  was  due  in  the  first  instance  to  the  missionaries  in 
India.''^* 

2.  Serampore  Pioneers  —  Thomas.  —  William  Carey 
was  the  leading  spirit  of  the  first  British  mission  to  India, 
This  cobbler  and  son  of  a  wool-weaver  landed  at  Calcutta 
on  the  tenth  of  November,  1793.  Ten  years  earlier, 
however,  a  Christian  surgeon  on  "  The  Earl  of  Oxford," 
East  Indiaman,  one  John  Thomas  by  name,  had  inserted 
an  advertisement  in  the  Indian  Gazette,  calling  for  a 
Christian  who  would  "  assist  in  promoting  a  knowledge  of 

^  With  slight  variations  the  quotation  is  as  follows:  "In  1793  the 
East  India  Company  passed  a  resolution  that  the  sending  of  mission- 
anes  into  our  Eastern  possessions  is  the  maddest,  most  extravagant,  most 
unwarrantable  project  that  was  ever  proposed  by  a  lunatic  enthusiast." 
See  Ligglns,  Great  Value  and  Success  of  Foreign  Missions,  p.  81;  Pier- 
son,  New  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  p.  260;  Montgomery,  Foreign  Missions, 
p.  25;  Jones,  India's  Problem,  p.  360;  Gospel  Missionary,  March,  1901; 
The  Quiver,  July,  1903;  The  Christian,  August  13,  1903.  What  Mr  Bens- 
ley  actually  said  was:  "  So  far  from  approving  the  clause,  or  listening  to 
it  \\-ith  patience,  from  the  first  moment  I  heard  of  it  I  considered  it  the 
most  wild,  extravagant,  expensive  and  unjustifiable  project  that  ever  was 
suggested  by  the  most  visionary  speculator."   Th&  Christian,  Sept.  17,  1903. 

*  Smith,  Conversion  of  India,  p.  1 10. 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   INDIA  169 

Jesus  Christ  in  and  around  Bengal."  Charles  Grant  and 
his  friends  placed  Thomas  "  at  Goamalty,  near  Malda, 
where  he  translated  part  of  the  New  Testament  into  Ben- 
gali and  for  three  years  worked  successfully  among  the 
natives.  But  though  spiritually-minded  and  zealous,  T^Ir, 
Thomas  was  an  impracticable  person  to  deal  with.  He 
was  mystical  and  extravagant,  irascible  and  bigoted;  and  he 
speculated  so  imprudently  and  became  so  involved  in  debts 
and, liabilities,  that  Mr.  Grant  was  compelled  to  break  off 
all  connection  with  him."^  Yet  it  w^as  through  Thomas 
that  Carey  was  turned  from  the  South  Seas  to  India. 

Carey,  —  A  boy  who  left  the  farm  for  the  shop  because 
he  could  not  endure  exposure  to  the  sun  would  hardly  have 
been  expected  to  labor,  early  and  late  for  over  forty  years 
in  the  heats  of  Calcutta  and  Serampore.  Carey  not  only 
did  this,  but  he  was  also  distinguished  as  naturalist,  Orien- 
talist, translator,  author,  professor,  and  mission  adminis- 
trator. When  he  and  his  medical  associate.  Dr.  Thomas, 
reached  Calcutta,  they  found  the  work  of  Kiernander, 
whose  support  had  come  from  the  British  Society  for  Pro- 
moting Christian  Knowledge,  in  a  comparatively  prosper- 
ous condition,  notwithstanding  the  veteran's  great  age  and 
his  pecuniary  embarrassments.  Besides  the  native  Chris- 
tian community  which  had  been  raised  up,  Kiernander's 
charities  had  given  Christianity  a  good  name.  Dr. 
Thomas's  medical  work  still  further  opened  the  Hindu 
heart  to  the  new  missionaries.  Carey's  first  native  convert 
—  he  had  won  a  man  of  Portuguese  descent  some  time  be- 
fore—  was  baptized  at  the  close  of  1800.  This  convert, 
Krishna  Chandra  Pal,  is  best  known  through  Marshman's 
translation  of  one  of  his  hymns,  beginning, — 

"  O  thou,  my  sovil,  forget  no  more, 
The  friend  who  all  thy  sorrows  bore. 
Let  every  idol  be  forgot ; 
But,  O  my  soul,  forget  Him  not." 

^  Hodder,   Conquests  of  the  Cross,   vol.   i.,  pp.   232,   233. 


i/O  IXDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OFFOtiTUNItV 

Carey's  largest  work  was  that  of  translator  and  author. 
Under  his  superintendence,  or  by  himself,  translations  of 
the  Scriptures  were  executed  in  no  fewer  than  thirty-five 
languages  or  dialects.  "  Of  these,  six  were  of  the  whole 
Bible;  twenty-two  of  the  New  Testament,  five  including 
also  a  considerable  part  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  seven 
of  portions  of  the  New  Testament.  Besides  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Scriptures,  Dr.  Carey  engaged  in  many  other 
and  extensive  literary  undertakings.  He  compiled  and 
published  grammars  of  the  Sanskrit,  the  Bengali,  the 
Marathi,  the  Telugu,  the  Kurnati,  and  the  Sikh  languages, 
and  dictionaries  of  the  Bengali  and  Marathi.  He  edited 
various  works  in  the  Sanskrit,  Bengali,  Bhotan,  and  Eng- 
lish languages.  The  number,  variety,  and  magnitude  of 
the  works  which  he  executed  are  truly  astonishing."^  It 
is  true  that  he  was  assisted  by  learned  native  scholars,  as 
well  as  by  his  English  associates,  and  it  is  further  true  that 
much  of  the  work  was  very  poorly  done,  the  ambition  of 
the  Serampore  missionaries  being  mainly  quantitative. 

His  Character,  —  Dr.  Carey  was  not  a  strong  man  in 
many  respects,  but  the  sum  total  of  his  missionary  quali- 
ties was  quite  unusual.  "  The  leading  features  of  his  char- 
acter were  inexhaustible  patience  and  perseverance  in  the 
prosecution  of  any  work  he  undertook,  great  modesty  and 
humility,  and  above  all,  great  simplicity  of  mind.  Here 
lay  the  charm  of  his  character.  This  constituted  its  moral 
strength  and  beauty.  It  was  the  mold  into  which  he  was 
cast.  It  rendered  him  at  once  venerable  and  lovely.  It 
may  afford  encouragement  to  others  to  find,  that  whatever 
of  usefulness  or  reputation  he  attained  was  the  result,  not 
of  any  high  order,  nor  perhaps  of  any  great  peculiarity  of 
intellect,  but  of  the  unreserved,  patient,  and  persevering 
devotion  of  a  plain  understanding  and  a  single  heart  to  the 
great  objects  of  his  life.'" 

^  Brown,  History  of  the  Propagation  of  Christianity  among  the 
Heathen,  vol.  ii.,  p.  y2.     '  Ibid.,  pp.  69,  70. 


CHRISTIANITY    IN   INDIA  I7I 

The  Marshinans.  —  Other  distinguished  members  of 
the  Serampore  community,  all  of  whom  were  connected 
with  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  though  for  some 
years  they  were  alienated  from  it,  were  Joshua  Marshman 
and  his  wife  Hannah.  Joshua  Alarshman  spent  his  time 
more  largely  in  regular  missionary  work  than  did  Carey. 
Like  his  more  famous  colleague  he  was  a  linguist  of  no 
mean  ability,  extending  his  labors  to  the  Chinese,  so  that 
with  the  aid  of  Lassar,  an  Armenian  from  Macao,  he  pub- 
lished before  Dr.  Morrison  did  in  China  itself  a  translation 
of  the  Chinese  Bible.  He  and  his  wife  established  a 
school,  first  for  European  children  and  later  others  for  na- 
tives. In  the  latter,  "  the  children  were  only  taught  read- 
ing, writing,  and  arithmetic;  but  with  the  view  of  giving 
enlargement  to  their  minds,  they  were  instructed  in  the 
more  popular  parts  of  geography,  astronomy,  and  natural 
philosophy,  in  the  leading  facts  of  history,  and  the  most 
important  principles  of  morality;  so  that  the  system  of 
education  pursued  in  them  was  incomparably  superior  to 
anything  known  in  the  Hindu  schools.  Christian  instruc- 
tion, however,  formed  no  part  of  the  plan;  as  the  mission- 
aries were  apprehensive  that  this  would  awaken  the  jeal- 
ousy of  the  natives  and  probably  defeat  the  whole 
scheme."^  At  Serampore  they  had  established  a  normal 
school  for  training  the  natives  to  teach  according  to  West- 
ern methods,  and  in  a  short  time  they  had  a  hundred 
schools  with  8,000  children  under  their  care.  Later  they 
found  that  such  schools  did  not  realize  the  expectations 
which  were  formed  of  them,  and  they  were  to  a  great  ex- 
tent given  up.  Hannah  Marshman's  work  for  girls  of  for- 
eign parentage  led,  through  the  object  lessons  afforded 
and  by  the  contributions  of  her  pupils,  to  the  establish- 
ment in  1820  of  the  first  school  for  Hindu  girls  in  Cal- 
cutta  and    apparently   the    third    for   native   girls    in    all 

*  Brown,  History  of  the  Propagation  of  Christianity  arnong  the 
Heathen,   vol,   ii.,   p.    57, 


172  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

India.  The  first  one  was  started  by  Mr.  May,  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  at  Chinsiirah  two  years 
carher.  The  Calcutta  Hindu  girls'  school  was  under  the 
care  of  some  of  the  junior  missionaries  of  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Society.  At  Serampore  the  missionaries  had 
established  in  1818  the  first  chartered  college  for  the 
education  of  native  young  men,  and  this  owed  much  to 
the  care  of  Dr.  Marshman. 

William  Ward.  —  The  third  man  in  the  famous  Seram- 
pore trio  was  William  Ward,  the  first  great  missionary 
printer.  His  words,  "  With  a  Bible  and  a  press  pos- 
terity will  see  that  a  missionary  will  not  labor  in  vain  even 
in  India,"  are  the  key  to  his  marvelous  activity  and  use- 
fulness. Aside  from  the  incalculable  value  of  his  services 
as  a  printer.  Ward  was  a  fluent  preacher  in  Bengali  and 
possessed  a  greater  knowledge  of  the  habits  and  customs 
of  the  natives  than  any  of  his  colleagues.  His  four-vol- 
ume work  on  the  religion,  manners,  etc.,  of  the  Hindus  is 
still  among  the  standard  literature  on  India. 

"Great  Principles."  —  These  tireless  men  and  their  less 
conspicuous  associates  had  brought  into  operation  before 
the  first  third  of  the  nineteenth  century  had  passed  nearly 
all  those  agencies  which  have  been  subsequently  employed 
by  Indian  missionaries.  Yet  even  more  important  in  a 
sense  are  the  mission  theories  and  principles  found  in  a 
document  drawn  up  in  1805,  entitled,  "  Form  of  Agree- 
ment respecting  the  Great  Principles  upon  which  the 
Brethren  of  the  Mission  at  Serampore  think  it  their  duty 
to  act  in  the  Work  of  Instructing  the  Heathen."  Omitting 
the  reference  to  their  communal  life,  which  in  the  end 
was  not  to  be  commended.  Dr.  Smith's  abstract  of  these 
principles  is  given  as  furnishing  suggestions  which  are 
of  value  to  missionaries  to-day.  "  (i)  It  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  we  set  an  infinite  value  upon  immortal 
souls;  (2)  that  we  gain  all  information  of  the  snares  and 
delusions  in  which  tbesg  heathen  are  held;   (3)  that  we 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  INDIA  I73 

abstain  from  those  things  which  would  increase  their 
prejudices  against  the  Gospel;  (4)  that  we  watch  all 
opportunities  of  doing  good;  (5)  that  we  keep  to  the 
example  of  Paul  and  make  the  great  subject  of  our 
preaching,  Christ  the  Crucified;  (6)  that  the  natives 
should  have  an  entire  confidence  in  us  and  feel  quite  at 
home  in  our  company;  (7)  that  we  build  up  and  watch 
over  the  souls  that  may  be  gathered;  (8)  that  we  form 
our  native  brethren  to  usefulness,  fostering  every  kind  of 
genius  and  cherishing  every  gift  and  grace  in  them,  espe- 
cially advising  the  native  churches  to  choose  their  pastors 
and  deacons  from  amongst  their  own  countrymen;  (9) 
that  we  labor  with  all  our  might  in  forwarding  transla- 
tions of  the  sacred  Scriptures  in  the  languages  of  India, 
and  that  we  establish  native  free  schools  and  recommend 
these  establishments  to  other  Europeans;  (10)  that  we 
be  constant  in  prayer  and  the  cultivation  of  personal  re- 
ligion to  fit  us  for  the  discharge  of  these  laborious  and 
unutterably  important  labors.  Let  us  often  look  at 
Brainerd  in  the  woods  of  America,  pouring  out  his  very 
sonl  before  God  for  the  perishing  heathen,  without  whose 
salvation  nothing  could  make  him  happy;  (11)  that  we 
give  ourselves  up  unreservedly  to  this  glorious  cause. 
Let  us  never  think  that  our  time,  our  gifts,  our  strength, 
our  families,  or  even  the  clothes  we  wear,  are  our  own. 
Let  us  sanctify  them  all  to  God  and  His  cause."^ 

3.  American  Pioneers  —  Judson,  a  Baptist.  —  The  first 
contingent  from  America  arrived  in  India  in  June,  1812, 
the  party  including  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  and  Rev.  Samuel 
Newell,  with  his  better-known  girl-wife,  Harriet  Atwood 
Newell.  Of  the  first  of  these  a  distinguished  Scotch 
authority,  who  calls  him  "  the  greatest  of  all  American 
missionaries,"  thus  writes:  "Adoniram  Judson  is  sur- 
passed by  no  missionary  since  the  Apostle  Paul  in  self- 
devotion  and  scholarship,  in  labors  and  perils,  in  saintli^ 

*  Smith,  Short  History  of  Christian  Missions,  p.   166   (1890  edition). 


1/4  IxN'DiA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OFPORTUNITY 

ness  and  humility,  in  the  result  of  his  toils  on  the  future 
of  an  empire  and  its  multitudinous  peoples.  He  took 
possession  of  Burma  for  Christ,  when  only  a  strip  of  its 
coasts  had  become  the  nucleus  of  the  eastern  half  of 
the  British  Empire  of  India,  and  he  inspired  his  native 
country  to  found  two  great  missionary  societies."^  Being 
strongly  influenced  by  the  w^ork  of  his  fellow  Baptists 
at  Serampore,  he  wrought  out  in  Burma  under  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist  Missionary  Union  a  very  similar  program. 
His  carefully  translated  Burman  Bible  is  a  more  creditable 
monument  than  many  of  the  hasty  and  imperfect  versions 
of  the  Serampore  brotherhood;  for  Judson  had  a  "lust 
for  finishing." 

Gordon  Hall,  a  Congrcgationalist.  —  Though  five  men 
had  sailed  to  India  in  1812  as  the  missionaries  of  the 
American  Board,  Judson  and  Rice  became  Baptists  on 
their  arrival  or  en  route.  Of  the  remaining  three,  Gordon 
Hall  was  the  strongest  man.  Until  the  new  charter  of 
the  East  India  Company  went  into  effect  more  than  a 
year  later,  he  and  his  associates  were  without  any  legal 
standing  in  India  and  were  in  direst  straits;  but  from 
1 8 14  onward  they  were  at  liberty  to  prosecute  their  work 
at  Bombay  on  the  Vv^est  coast,  thanks  to  the  efforts  of  the 
now  venerable  Charles  Grant.  Hall's  thirteen  years  of 
labor  brought  into  temples  and  bazaars  alike  the  Gospel 
message  and  gave  the  Marathi  New  Testament  to  many 
milHons.  "No  missionary  in  Western  India,"  wrote  one 
some  years  ago,  "has  ever  been  more  respected  among 
the  Brahmans  and  higher  classes  for  his  discussions  and 
pulpit  discourses."  Among  the  strongest  influences  in 
awakening  America  to  her  missionary  obligation  in  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century  were  his  letters  to  Andover 
Seminary  students  and  his  tract,  "  The  Conversion  of  the 
World;  or  the  Claims  of  Six  Hundred  Millions."  The 
work  which  bis  associates  at  Bombay  found  most  useful 

^  Smith,  Conversion  of  India,  p.   151, 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   INDIA  175 

was  that  of  literature  and  the  press,  which  in  a  small  way 
was  to  Western  India  what  the  work  of  Serampore  was 
to  Eastern  India. 

John  Scudder,  Dutch  Reformed.  —  Five  years  before 
the  veteran  Schwartz  died,  a  child  was  born  in  New  Jersey 
who  was  destined  to  head  an  illustrious  family  of  Ameri- 
can missionaries  to  India.  When  Dr.  John  Scudder  was 
waiting  one  day  in  the  ante-room  of  a  lady  patient,  he 
picked  up  Gordon  Hall's  tract  just  mentioned,  and  seven 
years  after  Hall  had  sailed  he  took  passage,  under  the 
American  Board,  for  the  same  land,  though  it  was  z'ia 
Ceylon,  where  he  spent  a  number  of  years  in  medical  mis- 
sionary service.  At  Madras  he  established  a  work  of  great 
value.  "  No  stronger,  more  versatile,  or  more  successful 
missionary  pioneer  ever  evangelized  a  people  as  healer, 
preacher,  teacher,  and  translator,  in  season  and  out  of 
season.  He  lived  in  praying  and  working  till,  although 
he  knew  it  not,  he  realized  his  ambition  even  in  this 
world,  *  to  be  one  of  the  inner  circle  around  Jesus.'  Such 
a  man  had  sons  and  children's  children  like  himself  to 
the  fourth  generation.  There  was  not  a  town  in  South- 
eastern India  which  had  not  heard  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
from  his  lips.  There  was  not  a  village  to  w^hich  the  pub- 
lications of  his  Tamil  press  had  not  penetrated,  while  his 
descendants  worked  by  his  side  and  took  up  his  mantle."* 
At  home  he  was  especially  distinguished  as  the  children's 
favorite  missionary.  It  is  said  that  he  addressed  at  least 
100,000  Sunday-school  children  in  1843,  niany  of  whom 
in  later  years  became  missionaries  themselves,  largely 
because  of  his  early  influence.  Though  sent  out  by  the 
American  Board,  he  belonged  to  the  Reformed  (Dutch) 
Church  in  America,  which  until  1857  worked  in  co-opera- 
tion with  the  American  Board.  He  and  some  of  his 
descendants  are  counted  as  the  brightest  stars  in  the 
galaxy  of  missionaries  whom  his  Church  has  sent  afield, 

^  Smith,    Conversion    of    India,    pp,     J64,    165. 


176  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 


VII.    Indian  Christianity  of  the  Last  Century 

1.  Other  Early  Societies.  —  In  the  preceding  sketch 
reference  has  been  made  to  pioneer  work  and  to  one  or- 
ganization or  society  from  each  Church.  This  plan  has 
prevented  any  mention  of  the  early  workers  of  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society,  which  entered  India  in  the  per- 
son of  Mr.  Forsyth  a  year  before  Marshman  and  his  as- 
sociates landed  at  Calcutta,  or  of  that  of  the  Christian 
Knowledge  Society,  which  in  addition  to  supporting 
Danish-Halle  missionaries,  had  commissioned  Ringel- 
taube  at  the  time  of  Marshman's  appointment.  For  the 
same  reason,  no  mention  is  made  here  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society,  whose  first  India  representatives  began 
work  in  Madras  only  two  years  after  the  American  Board's 
missionaries  arrived  at  Calcutta;  nor  can  anything  be 
said  of  the  vakiable  services  of  three  other  important  so- 
cieties, all  of  which  had  begun  their  work  before  the  first 
quarter  of  last  century  had  closed,  namely  that  of  the 
English  Wesleyans,  and  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterians,  and 
of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  For- 
eign Parts.  In  what  has  been  said  of  this  pioneer  stage, 
the  reader  will  find  the  germs  of  all  subsequent  work 
done  by  the  missionaries  of  the  Empire.  Later  chapters 
will  set  forth  methods  and  problems  confronting  the 
nearly  one  hundred  Protestant  societies  laboring  in  India, 
as  well  as  state  the  results  of  missionary  work  and  pre- 
sent the  opportunities  alluring  them  onward.  Only  a  few 
general  remarks  need  be  added  to  this  division  of  the 
subject. 

2.  Seventy-five  Years.  —  Dividing  the  remainder  of  the 
century  into  periods  of  twenty-five  years  each,  we  find 
that  of  the  societies  still  at  work  in  India  thirteen  entered 
upon  their  work  between  1826  and  1850.  Four  of  them 
were  American,   five  were  British,   and   four  were  Ger- 


Central  Young  Men's  Christian  Association    Building,  Madras 


Young  Women's  Christian  Association  Building,  Bombay 


CHRISTIANITY   IN    INDIA  \'JJ 

man.  During  this  period  two  women's  societies  entered 
the  field,  the  Church  of  Scotland  Women's  Association 
and  the  Women's  Society  for  Christian  Female  Education 
in  Eastern  Countries,  of  Berlin.  During  the  years  185 1- 
1875  eight  American  societies,  nine  from  Great  Britain, 
two  from  Denmark,  two  from  Germany,  and  three  organ- 
ized in  India  itself  placed  its  workers  in  the  field, —  a 
total  of  twenty-four  societies.  Since  1876  about  forty  new 
societies  have  entered  the  Empire,  all  of  them  being  repre- 
sented by  a  comparatively  small  number  of  missionaries 
except  the  Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance  of  the  United 
States,  the  Presbyterians  of  Canada,  the  Evangelical  Na- 
tional Society  of  Sweden,  and  the  Brecklum  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Society  of  Schleswig-Holstein.  During  these 
years  three  new  forms  of  effort  were  represented  for  the 
first  time  in  the  Empire:  The  India  Sunday-school 
Union,  which  from  1876  has  cared  for  the  Sunday-school 
interests  of  the  land ;  the  work  for  young  men  and  women 
as  carried  on  by  representatives  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  of  North  America  and  Great  Bri- 
tain, and  of  the  World's  Young  Women's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation; and  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor. 

3.  Sepoy  Mutiny.  —  One  event  in  these  years  did  much 
to  change  the  current  of  missionary  effort.  "  In  the  first 
century's  history  of  the  evangelical  conversion  of  India," 
writes  George  Smith,  "  tlie  vSepoy  Mutiny  of  1857  opened 
a  new  period.  It  tested  by  persecution  the  reality  and  the 
character  of  the  faith  of  the  converts.  It  proved  to  be  a 
call  to  the  conscience  of  Christendom.  The  number  of 
white  Christians  known  or  believed  to  have  been  butchered 
by  the  mutineers  and  th^ir  brutal  agents  was  1,500.  of 
whom  thirty-seven  were  missionaries,  chaplains,  and  their 
families.  .  .  .  Not  one  instance  can  be  cited  of  failure 
to  confess  Christ  by  men  and  women,  very  often  of  weak 
physique  and  but  yesterday  of  the  same  faith  as  their 
murderers.    Tlic  only  known  cases  in  which  life  was  pur- 


178  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

cliasecl  by  denial  were  those  of  one  officer  of  mixed 
jjlood  and  some  band  boys  of  Portuguese  descent  and  re- 
ligious profession."^  More  than  that:  "The  lurid  ligiit 
shed  upon  the  condition  of  India  by  the  Mutiny  and  the 
increased  knowledge  of  and  interest  in  the  coiuitry  thus 
produced,  led  many  Christians  in  the  United  Kingdom 
and  in  America  to  perceive  what  great  responsibilities 
were  laid  upon  the  English  by  the  possession  of  India, 
and  to  resolve  to  endeavor  to  perform  the  duties  arising 
therefrom.  New  energy  was  diffused  into  every  mis- 
sionary society  already  laboring  in  India,  and  fresh  or- 
ganizations were  formed  to  enable  the  many  open  doors 
to  be  entered.""  With  the  assumption  by  Oueen  Victoria 
of  dominion  in  India  after  the  ^Mutiny,  Christian  India 
came  into  being. 

4.  Censuses,  i8/2-TpOT. —  The  growth  of  Christianity  of 
every  form  in  a  generation  may  be  seen  by  a  comparison 
of  religious  statistics  from  1872,  when  the  first  census 
of  all  India  was  taken,  to  the  last  one  of  1901.  The  Portu- 
guese and  French  possessions  are  not  here  considered,  but 
if  they  were  added  the  present  Christian  population  would 
be  increased  by  about  350,000.  In  1872  there  were  in 
India,  including  Burma,  1,517,997  Christians.  In  1881 
they  numbered  1,862,525,  an  increase  of  22.y  per  cent.;  in 
1891  they  had  increased  to  2,284,380,  a  gain  of  22.6  per 
cent.;  and  in  1901  there  were  2,923,241  Christians,  a  gain 
during  the  decade  of  28  per  cent.  Comparing  the  Chris- 
tians of  1872  with  those  of  1901,  their  number  had  in- 
creased in  twenty-nine  years  92.6  per  cent."  The  increase 
of  Protestants  during  this  period  is  still  greater,  as  is 
shown  in  the  last  chapter. 

5.  Protestants  in  igoi.  — Still  confining  ourselves  to  the 
government   returns   of    1901,   the   Protestant   community 

^  Smith,   Conrerston   of  India,   pp.    137,    138. 

^  St.    Clair-Tisdall,   India,   Its  History,   Darkness  and  Dawn,   p.    108. 
"See    Hunter,    Indian    Empire,    p.    319    and    Statesman's    Year-Dook, 
J903,  p.   141, 


CHRISTIANITY   IN    INDIA  179 

in  India  at  the  time  of  the  last  census,  excluding  the 
Eurasians  and  European  and  allied  races,  numbered  866,- 
985.  The  church  affiliations  of  these  native  Protestant 
Christians  were  as  follows : 

Anglicans    ....  305,907  Presbyterians  .     .  .  42,799 

Baptists 216,743  Congregationalists  .  37,313 

Lutherans    ....  153,768  Salvationists    .     .  .  18,847 

Methodists.     .     .     .  68,451  Minor  sects      .     .  .  23,157 

An  Enghsh  writer,  commenting  on  these  statistics,  re- 
marks: "  It  will  be  noticed  that  nearly  half  the  Christians 
under  *  Minor  sects '  are  stated  to  belong  to  the  '  London 
Mission.'  This  is  evidently  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety, and  the  number,  10,321,  should  be  added  to  the 
37,313  Congregationalists,  wKo  otherwise  are  surprisingly 
few.  Moreover,  we  expect  that  about  18,000  out  of  the 
59,810  *  Protestants '  of  Travancore  who  are  credited  to 
the  Church  of  England  really  belong  to  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society,  and  that  these  also  should  be  added  to 
the  Congregationalists.  But  probably  some  of  those 
whose  denomination  is  *  not  returned '  should  be  credited 
to  the  Church  of  England,  so  that  we  do  not  suppose 
the  total  number  of  Anglicans  is  overstated."^ 

6.  Governmcfit  and  Christianity.  —  The  British  power 
in  India  provides  to  some  extent  for  the  religious  needs 
of  its  wards.  This  it  docs  "  with  a  view,  not  to  converting 
the  natives,  but  to  provide  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  its 
European  soldiers  and  officials,  as  it  provides  for  their 
medical  requirements.  .  .  .  The  Indian  Government 
maintains  no  Roman  Catholic  establishment.  But  certain 
of  the  thirty  Roman  Catholic  bishops  receive  allowances 
for  furnishing  ecclesiastical  military  returns  and  certain 
priests  for  services  rendered  to  the  troops.  .  .  .  The 
government  ecclesiastical  staff  is  distributed  among  the 
military   and  official   centers,   while   the   other   societies 

^Church  Missionary  Intelligencer,  July,   1902,  p.   501. 


l8o  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

endeavor  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  smaller  stations,  par- 
ticularly the  little  clusters  of  Europeans  along  the  lines 
of  railway  and  in  the  planting  districts.  Taken  together 
and  including  Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants,  they  min- 
istered in  1891  to  168,000  Europeans  and  79,842  Eurasians, 
according  to  Sir  Thomas  Hope's  tables;  total,  247,842.'" 
This  provision  for  Europeans  should  be  remembered,  when 
the  criticism  is  brought  against  missionaries  by  travelers, 
that  they  neglect  their  own  people  in  their  zeal  for 
evangelizing  the  natives. 

7.  Advance  in  a  Century.  —  The  last  chapter  will  show 
in  some  detail  the  technical  gains  of  the  last  century;  but 
there  are  some  general  points  that  may  be  mentioned  here, 
which  show  the  progress  in  Christian  conceptions  during 
this  period.  The  nineteenth  century  opened  wath  the  new 
emphasis  of  the  brotherhood  of  believers,  a  brotherhood 
that  would  not  brook  the  views  and  practices  of  Catholics 
and  some  of  the  Protestants  of  the  previous  century. 
While  caste  still  is  one  of  Protestantism's  sternest  prob- 
lems, it  has  practically  disappeared  as  a  factor  to  be  winked 
at  or  even  encouraged.  Similarly,  the  compromise  with 
Hinduism  which  Catholicism  had  been  guilty  of  and  which 
influenced  Protestants  early  in  the  century  by  making 
themi  fear  to  antagonize  native  religious  views,  has  given 
place  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  strong  points  of 
native  religions  and  the  true  relation  to  them  of  Chris- 
tianity. Missionaries  no  longer  hesitate  to  use  native 
terms  of  religious  import,  and  their  method  of  approach 
is  more  Pauline  and  less  unreasonable.  The  ceremonial 
and  formal  factors  in  Christianity  have  largely  changed 
during  the  century,  and  the  more  spiritual  elements  of 
the  Christ  life  are  placed  at  the  forefront.  H  the  dangers 
of  the  life  beyond  for  the  unrepentant  are  less  often 
preached  than  they  were  a  hundred  years  ago,  the  life 
which,  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God  and  which  is  a  prepara- 

*  Hunter,     Indian    Empire,    pp.     319,     320. 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  INDIA  l8l 

tion  for  the  bliss  of  heaven  is  more  insisted  on.  Coopera- 
tion and  fellowship  have  made  rapid  advances  during  the 
period  and  thus  markedly  differentiate  the  work  now  from 
that  of  seventy-five  years  ago.  Educational  work  and 
the  value  of  literature,  which  Protestants  have  appre- 
ciated from  the  outset,  have  made  vast  gains  even  during 
the  last  thirty  years. 

8.  An  Official  Estimate.  —  What  Christianity  has  ac- 
complished may  be  expressed  quite  as  eloquently  in  general 
terms  as  in  Arabic  numerals.  One  such  estimate  of  the 
work  of  Christians  is  found  in  the  Report  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  India,  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons 
in  1892:  "The  various  lessons  which  they  inculcate  have 
given  to  the  people  at  large  new  ideas,  not  only  on  purely 
religious  questions,  but  on  the  nature  of  evil,  the  obliga- 
tions of  law,  and  the  motives  by  which  human  conduct 
should  be  regulated.  Insensibly  a  higher  standard  of 
moral  conduct  is  becoming  familiar  to  the  people,  espe- 
cially to  the  young,  which  has  been  set  before  them  not 
merely  by  public  teaching,  but  by  the  millions  of  printed 
books  and  tracts,  which  are  scattered  widely  through  the 
country.  This  view  of  the  general  influence  of  their  teach- 
ing and  of  the  greatness  of  the  revolution  which  it  is 
silently  producing,  is  not  taken  by  the  missionaries  alone. 
It  has  been  accepted  by  many  distinguished  residents  in 
India,  and  experienced  officers  of  the  Government."^ 

^  Quoted  by  Thompson  and  Johnson,  British  Foreign  Missions,  p.  39. 


\ 


VI 

WAYS  OF  WORKING 

The  preceding  chapter  has  shown  the  main  lines  of 
work  in  use  among  Catholic  and  Protestant  missionaries. 
A  closer  examination  of  them  is  requisite  to  a  proper 
knowledge  of  missions  in  India.  In  the  brief  exposition 
here  attempted,  present  methods  are  dealt  with ;  since  they 
embody  the  best  things  from  previous  experiments  and  are 
without  certain  factors  of  doubtful  value. 

I.  Evangelizing  the  Masses 

I.  Indoor  Preaching.  —  While  preaching  in  mission 
halls  to  the  unevangelized  is  not  as  prominent  as  in  mis- 
sion lands  in  cooler  countries,  it  is  nevertheless  a  promi- 
nent feature  of  Indian  evangelistic  effort.  There  is  less 
noise  there  than  on  the  street,  and  the  people  are  under 
better  control,  since  the  missionary  is  on  his  own  ground. 
Moreover,  seats  or  mats  are  an  inducement  for  a  longer 
stay  than  in  street  preaching.  A  compromise  between  the 
street  and  a  hall  is  the  verandah  of  the  latter,  which  gath- 
ers a  company  more  easily  than  an  enclosed  room.  The 
best  audiences  are  secured  in  the  evening,  when  bright 
lights  and  attractive  singing  of  Christian  hymns  set  to 
native  tunes  quickly  call  together  a  good  congregation. 
Some  of  the  most  effective  work  of  the  preaching  hall  is 
the  leverage  gained  through  its  use  as  a  reading  and  book 
room  for  part  of  the  day  and  as  a  place  for  quiet  personal 
intcrvievrs  after  the  audience  has  been  dismissed. 

182 


WAYS  or'   WORKING  l8^ 

2.  Bazaar  Preaching.  —  It  is  on  the  busy  streets  of  an 
Indian  city  that  one  is  most  put  to  the  test  as  a  preacher, 
if  the  mela  preaching  is  left  out  of  the  count.  The  hag- 
gHng  of  buyers  and  sellers,  the  bustle  of  people  coming  and 
going,  the  attacks  of  a  hostile  Brahman  in  a  public  place, 
are  factors  which  make  the  task  most  difficult  to  a  for- 
eigner using  an  unfamiliar  language.  Dr.  Stewart  thus 
describes  the  work  in  the  Punjab:  "It  must  not  be  sup- 
posed by  any  that  quietness  is  the  distinguishing  charac- 
teristic of  a  bazaar  audience.  Far  from  it.  Many  persons, 
indeed,  listen  respectfully  and  make  no  signs  of  either  ap- 
proval or  disapproval.  But  it  is  different  with  others.  A 
few  exhibit  astonishment  at  the  good  news.  Some,  espe- 
cially Hindus,  will  cry  out,  *  That's  all  true,'  or  '  The  Sahib 
is  right,'  or  *  Your  religion  is  good  for  you,  and  ours  is 
good  for  us;  let  every  one  follow  the  path  that  his  fathers 
trod.'  Some  will  ask  questions  —  often  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult or  irrelevant  character  —  and  try  to  embarrass  the 
preacher,  or  get  up  a  laugh  at  his  expense.  Some  — 
Mohammedans,  bigots,  or  Aryans,  for  instance  —  will 
present  objections,  or  flatly  contradict  the  speaker,  reading 
perhaps  out  of  the  Koran,  or  an  infidel  book,  to  establish 
their  points;  and  frequently  bystanders  of  this  class  will 
try  to  break  up  the  meeting,  or  turn  it  into  an  assemblage 
for  the  propagation  of  their  own  religious  views.  Occa- 
sionally, too,  they  carry  their  violence  so  far  that  the  police 
are  asked  to  interfere  and  quell  disturbance.  As  might  be 
supposed,  therefore,  every  one  does  not  make  a  good  ba- 
zaar preacher.  Ready  wit,  a  quick  ear,  and  a  nimble 
tongue  are  necessary  for  success  in  this  capacity;  also 
that  mysterious  power  by  which  men  can  naturally  over- 
awe opposition  and  keep  a  restless  audience  under  con- 
trol."' 

3.  Itinerating.  —  A  wider  form  of  evangelism  is  ef- 
fected through  journeying  from  place  to  place  and  pur- 

*  Stewart,  Life  and  Work  in  India,  pp.  157,  158. 


184  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN    OPrORT UNITY 

suing  in  villages  and  towns  a  work  similar  to  that  just 
named.  The  romance  of  itineration  comes  from  the  tent 
form  of  life.  This,  however,  is  expensive;  since,  if  it  is 
thoroughly  done,  the  party  must  take  a  number  of  tents  and 
the  proper  furnishings.  On  arriving  at  a  village,  they 
are  pitched  near  by,  and  there  the  work  is  carried  on,  if 
a  preaching  pavilion  has  been  provided.  As  the  party  may 
remain  from  two  days  to  a  week,  systematic  visitation  of 
the  villages  near  may  be  pretty  thoroughly  done.  Often 
missionaries,  instead  of  taking  tents,  go  to  the  public  rest- 
house  of  the  places  visited;  and  by  living  in  the  midst  of 
the  people,  they  are  able  to  do  more  satisfactory  work,  as 
well  as  reduce  the  expense.  The  most  fruitful  plan,  how- 
ever, is  that  commonly  adopted  after  itineration  has  se- 
cured a  regular  constituency  and  settled  forms  of  work. 
There  will  then  be  in  most  of  the  villages  visited  some 
room  or  building  belonging  to  the  mission,  or  loaned  them 
by  native  Christians,  which  they  make  their  headquarters. 
When  the  work  has  reached  this  stage,  evangelistic  effort 
becomes  somewhat  subordinate.  "  The  whole  round  of 
missionary  duties,  as  far  as  possible,  must  be  carried  along 
with  the  party  and  fully  discharged.  Schools  must  be  in- 
spected; native  Christians  must  be  examined;  new  con- 
verts must  be  baptized;  communion  services  must  be  held; 
homes  for  village  workers  and  houses  for  village  churches 
must  be  secured;  reports  must  be  received  or  prepared; 
accounts  must  be  kept;  correspondence  must  not  be  neg- 
lected; and  mothers  must  see  to  the  instruction  of  their 
children."' 

Drawbacks.  —  Lest  any  should  regard  missionary  tour- 
ing as  a  pleasure  jaunt,  another  quotation  is  added :  "Some- 
times the  sun  at  midday  maker,  it  too  hot  for  people  to  re- 
main in  tents  and  drives  them  under  the  shade  of  an  um- 
b'Tdfreous  tree.  Occasionally  rain  pours  down  in  such 
quantities  that  the  tents  and  much  of  their  contents  are 
*  Stewart,  Life  and  Work  in  India,  p.  ;9X. 


Itinerating  Tent  and  Outfit — Haidarabad 


Street  Preaching — Women's  Work 


WAYS  OF  WORKING  185 

completely  saturated,  and  it  becomes  impossible  either  to 
move  the  encampment  or  to  occupy  it  in  comfort.  Some- 
times the  wind  and  dust  storms  give  a  good  deal  of  trou- 
ble. Now  and  then  village  officers  are  unfriendly  and 
greatly  obstruct  our  movements.  Sometimes  thieves  enter 
our  tents  and  carry  away  valuables.  .  .  .  Sometimes 
the  night  is  made  fearful  by  the  howling  of  jackals,  dogs, 
and  even  wolves.  Now  and  then  the  smells  of  a  locality 
become  unendurable.  Sometimes  mad  dogs,  or  crazy 
fakirs,  give  great  annoyance,  especially  to  ladies.  .  .  . 
Often,  too,  the  annoyance  felt  from  a  continual  stream 
of  native  visitors  becomes  painful."^ 

Band  Work.  —  Instead  of  going  in  a  company  with  a 
single  center  of  work,  members  of  an  itinerating  band  of 
missionaries  may  follow  the  plan  described  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Meadows  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  South  In- 
dia. "  There  were  three  of  us  English  missionaries.  We 
lived  in  the  north  of  Tinnevelly  and  had  a  district  that 
was  about  1,400  square  miles  in  extent.  We  purposely 
made  it  small,  in  order  that  we  might  be  able  to  go  back- 
wards and  forwards  all  through,  again  and  again;  and 
this  district  of  about  1,400  square  miles  contained  about 
1,400  villages  and  towns  and  a  population  of  a  little  more 
than  270,000  people.  We  lived  in  our  tents  all  the  year 
round,  though  it  was  very  hot  indeed  at  some  times  of  the 
year.  Each  of  us  had  his  own  tent,  and  each  tent  was 
pitched  at  a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles  from  the  other. 
We  had  each  to  help  us  a  native  brother ;  and  these  native 
brethren,  too,  had  their  own  tents,  and  they  also  had  their 
tents  ten  miles  perhaps  apart  from  each  other.  We  always 
met  together  once  a  fortnight  in  order  to  confer  and  pray 
together.  We  stayed  at  a  place  a  week,  and  every  morning 
and  every  evening  we  got  on  our  horses  and  rode  to  a 
village  and  preached  in  the  street."' 

^  Stewart,  Life  and  Work  in  India,  pp.   191,  192. 

^Rel>ort  of  the  Centenary  Conference,  London,  1888,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  39,  4P, 


i86  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

Native  Bands.  —  A  modified  form  of  the  above  method 
is  that  by  which  a  company  of  native  workers,  usually 
theological  students  or  catechists,  go  out  under  the  lead- 
ership of  a  single  missionary.  Mr.  G.  S.  Eddy  thus 
speaks  of  the  work  of  the  band  which  he  had  in  charge : 
''  We  are  out  among  the  villages,  far  from  railway  or 
white  man,  with  a  score  of  earnest  theological  students, 
preaching  from  morning  to  night  from  village  to  village 
in  the  joy  of  carrying  the  Gospel  to  a  thousand  souls  a 
day.  We  spend  the  hot  noon  hours  studying  in  the  tents 
in  the  shade  of  some  little  grove.  Every  few  days  we 
strike  camp  and  move  on  until  our  month's  itineracy 
is  over.  So  we  go  on  from  month  to  month  through  the 
ten  stations  of  the  Madura  Mission  till  our  year's  work  is 
done.  .  .  .  The  village,  like  an  isolated  republic,  is 
isolated  and  self-sufficient,  as  ignorant  of  all  the  world 
as  it  in  turn  by  the  world  is  ignored,  unknown.  The 
sun  marks  the  time  of  its  uneventful  lazy  hours  as  the 
children  play  and  the  dogs  sleep  in  the  sunshine.  Sud- 
denly every  dog  is  awake,  and  with  the  din  of  howls  and 
barking  arouse  the  village  at  our  arrival.  We  come 
with  our  own  violin  and  a  song  and  are  followed  down 
the  street  by  the  curious  crowd.  Arrived  at  the  market- 
place we  continue  to  sing  till  all  the  people  are  gathered. 
Then  one  by  one  we  try  to  tell  the  simple  story  that  can 
change  their  lives.  The  people  sit  around  chewing  betel 
leaf,  or  cleaning  their  teeth  for  the  morning  with  a  stick, 
or  nodding  approval  as  we  proceed;  for  of  all  the  people 
of  the  world,  they  are  the  most  gentle  and  tolerant.  But 
spiritually  their  life  is  sunken  and  sordid  and  needy  be- 
yond all  words.  The  simplest  ideas  of  spiritual  religion 
seem  beyond  them,  except  as  God  supernaturally  reveals 
them  as  we  preach.  .  .  .  W^e  preach,  and  one  strikes 
his  stomach  —  the  center  of  all  his  life  and  thoughts  — 
and  says,  *  Will  your  God  give  us  food  without  work  ?  ' 
*  Food '  and  *  work '  they  understand,  but  not  *  sin '  and 


WAYS   OF    WORKING  187 

'salvation.'  What  can  we  do  for  such  degraded  people? 
Save  them !  "^  This  form  of  effort  is  valuable  not  only 
for  its  immediate  evangelistic  results  but  for  the  instruc- 
tion and  inspiration  of  the  workers. 

Stercopticon  Work. —  An  iniportant  auxiliary  used  in 
itineration,  as  well  as  at  the  stations,  is  the  stereopticon. 
This  makes  night  work,  when  the  multitudes  are  at  lei- 
sure, the  most  profitable  form  of  effort.  When  the  people 
are  argumentative  or  hostile,  the  lantern  pictures  secure 
quiet.  The  late  Norman  Russell  of  Canada  makes  the 
value  of  this  form  of  teaching  very  clear,  as  also  his 
way  of  using  the  stereopticon.  "  Usually  on  entering 
a  large  town  or  village,  we  take  a  few  photographs  of 
familiar  scenes, —  the  bazaar,  the  temple,  or  a  group  of 
schoolboys  —  and,  preparing  slides  at  our  tents,  throw 
them  upon  the  screen,  much  to  the  delight  of  the  amazed 
villagers,  who  are  led  thereby  to  give  all  the  more  atten- 
tion to  the  Gospel  pictures.  .  .  .  It  is  marvelous,  the 
widespread  fascination  of  the  lantern  meeting.  Dignified 
officials,  who  would  not  deign  to  pause  and  listen  to  a 
bazaar  talk,  will  have  their  chairs  brought  out  and  give 
close  attention  to  the  explanation  of  the  pictures.  I  re- 
member one  evening  a  number  of  haughty  Brahmans  so 
eager  to  be  present  at  our  meeting  as  to  sit  down  under 
the  shelter  of  the  darkness  with  low-caste  Chamars  and 
on  the  latter's  veranda.  .  .  .  The  villager  is  fond  of 
anything  in  the  nature  of  tarnasha;  he  loves  to  see  the 
changing  colors  on  the  sheet;  the  pictures  aid  his  dull 
sense  in  understanding  the  unfamiliar  story;  and  he  will 
stand  patiently  for  an  hour  or  more  in  the  chill  atmos- 
phere of  the  market-place  to  see  and  hear  the  Gospel 
message."-  At  the  great  melas,  or  gatherings  for  com- 
mercial   purposes   or   to   celebrate   some    religious   event, 

^Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  April,    1902,   pp.   262,  263. 
'  Russell,    Village    Work  in  India,   pp.   86,  87. 

( 


lS8  I.NDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

the  lantern  furnishes  an  attraction  ahnost  equal  to  the 
niela  itself.  It  thus  supplements  the  work  in  the  mission- 
ary's preaching  tent  and  has  the  additional  advantage  of 
securing  an  even  larger  audience  and  greater  quiet. 

4.  Jlsiting  Homes.  —  A  feature  of  the  work  of  reach- 
ing the  masses  with  the  Gospel,  which  in  many  sections 
is  being  more  emphasized  than  bazaar  and  mela  preach- 
ing, is  that  of  house  to  house  visitation,  alluded  to  in 
connection  with  itineration.  Though  women  missionaries 
adopt  this  method  more  often  than  men,  it  can  be  done 
by  gentlemen.  Yet,  as  Bishop  Thoburn  remarks,  "  the 
most  successful  workers  are  comparatively  obscure  Hin- 
dustani preachers,  who  go  and  sit  down  at  the  doorstep 
of  a  native  hut,  or  perhaps  in  a  courtyard  into  which  a 
number  of  little  humble  dwellings  open,  and  talk  with  the 
people,  sing,  if  permitted  to  do  so,  and  possibly  engage 
in  prayer  with  them.  The  converts  are  often  won  after 
long  personal  intercourse,  one  by  one,  by  these  workers. 
In  other  words,  our  preaching  in  India  seems  to  be  drift- 
ing back  more  and  more  toward  early  standards."^ 

5.  Madras  Rcsolufioiis.  —  At  the  Decennial  Confer- 
ence at  Madras,  held  in  1902,  the  following  convictions 
as  to  the  important  place  of  evangelistic  effort  in  the 
missionary  scheme  were  expressed:  "Your  committee  is 
not  unmindful  that  there  are  many  useful  methods  of 
evangelistic  work  and  would  encourage  all  ways  and 
means  of  carrying  the  Gospel  to  the  people.  Mission 
halls,  Bible  classes,  house  to  house  visitation,  quiet  work 
in  the  ^^'ards  of  the  town  or  city,  —  all  these  and  many 
other  \\'ays  have  been  blessed.  But  whatever  method  may 
be  used,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  masses  of 
the  people  live  in  the  villages,  are  cultivators  of  the  soil, 
and  are  illiterate.  In  order  to  reach  the  masses,  it  is 
necessary  to  itinerate  extensively  and  to  preach  much 
in  the  open  air.    For  this  work  able  men,  who  are  familiar 

^  Thoburn,   India   and   Malaysia,   p.    242. 


WAYS  OF   WORKING  1 89 

with  the  languages,  religions,  and  customs  ot  the  people, 
and  who  can  '  rightly  divide  the  word  of  truth,'  should  be 
selected.  .  .  .  This  work  can  be  carried  on  mainly  in 
two  ways,  namely,  by  the  location  of  qualified  evangelists 
in  stations  from  which  a  number  of  villages  may  be 
regularly  visited,  and  also  by  the  organizing  of  itinerating 
bands  working  under  competent  leaders."^ 

II.    Work  for  India's  Women 

I.  Lady  Missionaries  and  Bible  Women.  —  Closely  akin 
to  the  evangelistic  work  for  the  general  community  just 
named  is  that  for  the  women.  The  importance  attached 
to  this  form  of  effort  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 
during  the  past  decade  the  number  of  foreign  and  Eura- 
sian women  missionaries  in  India  and  Burma  has  increased 
almost  seventy  per  cent.,  and  for  the  first  time  they  out- 
number the  corresponding  male  agency.  During  the 
same  period  the  Hindu  and  Burman  Bible  women  in- 
creased over  fifty-eight  per  cent.,  and  are  more  than  four 
times  as  numerous  as  the  foreign  and  Eurasian  force.  As 
for  their  efficiency,  the  Madras  Conference  report  says: 
"  In  India  it  is  probable  that  the  larger  half  of  aggressive 
work  can  be  better  done  by  women,  and  it  is  a  matter 
of  thankfulness  that  the  women  workers  outnumber  the 
men.'" 

Their  Task  and  Its  Importance.  —  The  task  awaiting 
these  women  and  the  lady  missionaries  is  suggested  by 
Dr.  Stewart's  words,  which  are  almost  as  true  of  all 
India  as  of  the  Punjab:  "Perhaps  twice  as  many  men 
as  women  have  been  baptized.  This  has  been  due,  not 
only  to  the  greater  intelligence  of  the  male  sex  in  that 
country  and  the  more  frequent  opportunities  which  they 
have  had  for  getting  light,  but  also  probably  to  the  more 

'  Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  ipos,  pp.  77,  78. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  220. 


190  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

conservative  character  of  the  female  sex  and  their  greater 
attachment  to  the  customs,  the  superstitions,  and  the  re- 
ligions of  their  ancestors.  Old  social  ties,  too,  have  per- 
haps been  stronger  in  their  case."^  The  same  writer 
shows  its  importance  both  from  the  native  and  the  mis- 
sionary view-point.  He  begins  by  quoting  from  a  vernacu- 
lar newspaper,  which  is  speaking  of  the  educated  native: 
"  *  In  public  he  may  be  a  Demosthenes  in  oratory,  or  a 
Luther  in  reform;  in  his  home  he  is  but  a  timid,  crouch- 
ing Hindu,  yielding  unquestionable  submission  to  the 
requisitions  of  a  superstitious  family.  Between  husband 
and  wife  there  can  be  no  rational  conversation,  no  hearty 
exchange  of  thought  and  sympathies,  no  cooperation  in 
really  useful  undertakings,  and  no  companionship.  They 
can  not  possibly  agree,  and  so  long  as  the  illiterate  wife 
governs  the  household  according  to  her  orthodox  preju- 
dices, the  nation  can  not  make  any  real  advancement.' 
And  these  remarks  are  especially  true  in  regard  to  re- 
ligious progress.  So  long  as  mother,  sister,  wife,  and 
daughter  remain  in  darkness,  so  long  must  husband, 
brother,  and  son  virtually  remain  so  too.  None  are  more 
ready  to  drive  away  from  home  a  Christian  convert  than 
the  female  members  of  his  own  household.  ...  *  When 
we  get  the  women  of  India  on  our  side,  with  a  Christian 
intelligence  to  guide  them  and  with  warm  sympathy  for 
their  husbands,  then,'  says  a  distinguished  missionary, 
*  the  battle  will  be  won.' '" 

2.  Visiting  Low-castes.  —  The  average  experience  of 
an  initial  visit  in  the  low-caste  home  is  vividly  pictured  in 
Miss  Carmichael's  Kipling-like  but  profoundly  mission- 
ary volume :  "  We  have  just  come  back  from  a  Pariah 
village.  Now  see  it  all  with  me.  Such  a  curious  little 
collection  of  huts  thrown  down  anywhere;  such  half- 
frightened,  half- friendly   faces;    such   a   scurrying   in   of 

*  Stewart,   Life  and   Work   in  India,   p.    243, 
'Ihid.,.   p,    175. 


WAYS  OF   WORKING  I9I 

some  and  out  of  others;  and  we  wonder  which  house  we 
w^ould  better  make  for.  We  stop  before  one  a  shade 
cleaner  than  most,  and  larger  and  more  open. 

"  *  May  we  come  in  ?'  Chorus,  *  Come  in !  oh,  come 
in ! '  and  in  we  go.  It  is  a  tiny  narrow  slip  of  a  room. 
At  one  end  there  is  a  fire  burning  on  the  ground;  the 
smoke  finds  its  way  out  through  the  roof,  and  a  pot  of 
rice  set  on  three  stones  is  bubbling  cheerfully.  No  fear 
of  defilement  here.  They  would  not  like  us  to  touch 
their  rice,  or  to  see  them  eating  it,  but  they  do  not  mind 
our  being  in  the  room  where  it  is  being  cooked.  At  the 
other  end  of  the  narrow  slip  there  is  a  goat-pen,  not 
very  clean;  and  down  one  side  there  is  a  raised  mud 
place  where  the  family  apparently  sleep.  This  side  and 
the  two  ends  are  roofed  by  palmyra  palm.  It  is  dry  and 
crackles  at  a  touch,  and  you  touch  it  every  time  you 
stand  up;  so  bits  of  it  are  constantly  falling  and  helping 
to  litter  the  open  space  below. 

"  Five  babies  at  different  stages  of  refractoriness  are 
sprawling  about  on  this  strip  of  floor;  they  make  noises 
all  the  time.  Half  a  dozen  imbecile-looking  old  women 
crowd  in  through  the  low  door  and  stare  and  exchange 
observations.  Three  young  men  with  nothing  particu- 
lar to  do  lounge  at  the  farther  end  of  the  platform  near 
the  goats.  A  bright  girl,  with  more  jewelry  on  than 
is  usual  among  Pariahs,  is  tending  the  fire  at  the  end 
near  the  door;  she  throws  a  stick  or  two  on  as  we  enter 
and  hurries  forward  to  get  a  mat.  We  sit  down  on  the 
mat,  and  she  sits  beside  us,  and  the  usual  questions  are 
asked  and  answered  by  way  of  introduction.  There  is  a 
not  very  clean  old  woman  diligently  devouring  betel; 
another  with  an  enormous  mouth,  which  she  always 
holds  wide  open;  another  with  a  very  loud  voice  and  a 
shock  of  unspeakable  hair.  But  they  listen  fairly  well  till 
a  goat  creates  a  diversion  by  making  a  remark,  and  a 
baby  —  a  jolly  little  scrap  in  its  nice  browvi  skin  and  .v 


192  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

bangle  —  yells,  and  every  one's  attention  concentrates  upon 
it.  The  goat  subsides,  the  baby  is  now  in  its  mother's 
arms;  so  we  go  on  where  we  left  off,  and  I  watch  the 
bright  young  girl  and  notice  that  she  listens  as  one  who 
understands.  She  looks  rather  superior;  her  rose- 
colored  seeley  is  clean,  and  two  large  gold  jewels  are  in 
each  ear;  she  has  a  little  gold  necklet  round  her  throat 
and  silver  bangles  and  toe-rings.  All  the  others  are 
hopelessly  grubby  and  very  unenlightened;  but  they  listen 
just  as  most  people  listen  in  church,  with  a  sort  of  patient 
expression.     It  is  the  proper  thing  to  do. 

"  I  am  talking  to  them  now,  and  till  I  am  half-way 
through  nobody  says  anything,  when  suddenly  the  girl 
remarks,  *  We  have  ten  fingers,  not  just  one';  which  is 
so  astonishing  that  I  stop  and  wonder  what  she  can  be 
thinking  of.  I  was  talking  about  the  one  sheep  lost  out 
of  one  hundred.  What  has  that  got  to  do  with  one  finger 
and  ten?  She  goes  on  to  explain:  *I  have  heard  all 
this  before.  I  have  a  sister  who  is  a  Christian,  and  once 
I  stayed  with  her,  and  I  heard  all  about  your  religion, 
and  I  felt  in  my  heart  it  was  good.  But  then  I  was  mar- 
ried '  — '  tied,'  she  said  — '  and  of  course  I  forgot  about 
it;  but  now  I  remember,  and  I  say  if  ten  of  our  people 
will  join  and  go  over  to  your  way,  that  will  be  well;  but 
what  would  be  the  use  of  one  going?  What  is  the  use  of 
one  finger  moving  by  itself?'     .     .     . 

"  *  If  ten  of  you  had  cholera,  and  I  brought  you  cholera 
medicine,  would  you  say,  *  I  won't  take  it  unless  nine 
others  take  it  too  ? '  I  replied.  She  laughs,  and  the  others 
laugh,  but  a  little  uneasily.  They  hardly  like  this  reference 
to  the  dreaded  cholera ;  death  of  the  body  is  so  much  more 
tremendous  in  prospect  than  death  of  the  soul.  *  You 
would  take  it,  and  then  the  others,  seeing  it  do  you  good, 
would  perhaps  take  it  too ' ;  and  we  try  to  press  home  the 
point  of  illustration.  But  the  point  pricks,  and  pridking 
is  uncomfortable. 


Zenana  Workers — North  India 


Bible  Woman  and  Pupils — South  India 


WAYS  OF   WORKING  I93 

"  The  three  men  begin  to  shuffle  their  feet  and  talk 
about  other  things;  the  old  mother-in-law  proposes  betel 
all  round  and  hands  us  some  grimy-looking  leaves  with  a 
pressing  invitation  to  partake.  The  various  onlookers 
make  remarks,  and  the  girl  devotes  herself  to  her  baby. 
But  she  is  thinking;  one  can  see  old  memories  are  stirred. 
At  last  with  a  sigh  she  gets  up,  looks  round  the  little 
indifferent  group,  goes  over  to  the  fireplace,  and  blows  up 
the  fire.  This  means  we  had  better  say  salaam;  so  we  say 
it,  and  they  say  it,  adding  the  usual  *  Go  and  come.* 

"It  will  be  easier  to  help  these  people  out  of  their  low 
levels  than  it  will  be  to  help  their  masters  of  the  higher 
walks  of  life.  But  to  do  anything  genuine  or  radical 
among  either  set  of  people  is  never  really  easy.  *  It  takes 
the  Ideal  to  blow  a  hair's-breadth  off  the  Dust  of  the 
Actual.'  It  takes  more.  It  takes  God.  It  takes  God  to  do 
anything  anywhere."^ 

3.  In  Zenanas.  —  The  work  for  those  in  genuine  zena- 
nas differs  from  that  described  mainly  in  the  great  for- 
mality of  wealthy  homes  and  in  the  smaller  number  who 
can  be  reached  at  a  given  visit.  Moreover,  it  may  be 
necessary  for  the  missionary  to  offer  inducements,  such  as 
giving  lessons  in  fancy-work  and  the  more  powerful  allure- 
ment of  teaching  the  inmates  to  read,  in  order  to  be  as- 
sured of  a  continuously  open  door.  Naturally,  the  ladies 
of  these  secluded  homes  are  far  more  ignorant  of  the 
outer  world  than  their  poor  neighbors,  and  hence  more 
time  must  be  taken  to  answer  questions  of  curiosity.  Na- 
tive Bible  women  are  not  as  acceptable  as  foreign  ladies 
in  such  work,  since  many  aristocratic  women  wnsh  noth- 
ing but  the  best,  and  also  because  native  workers  can  not 
satisfy  their  curiosity  as  well  as  one  from  across  the  sea. 

4.  Teaching  in  Homes.  —  Teaching  in  the  homes  can  be 
best  accomplished  in  zenanas,  for  the  reason  that  wealthy 

*  Carmichael,  Things  As  They  Are:  Mission  Work  in  Southern 
India,  pp.   57-6o. 


194  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

ladies  have  greater  leisure ;  yet  it  is  also  done  in  the  ^^dor- 
est  families.  Where  it  is  possible  to  induce  girls  to  attend 
a  mission  school,  they  are  not  taught  at  home;  but  there 
are  very  many  who  can  not  or  v^ill  not  attend  such  schools, 
and  the  work  must  be  carried  to  them.  One  can  assume 
that  what  the  women  and  girls  know  is  scarcely  more  than 
a  child  of  six  knows  in  Christian  lands,  and  that  methods 
—  barring  those  of  the  kindergarten  — will  be  successful 
that  are  in  use  for  children  at  home.  Most  of  the  teaching 
done  is  with  the  object  of  enabling  the  women  and  girls 
to  read  for  themselves,  and  to  impart  a  knowledge  of  the 
Bible.  This  latter  knowledge  is  not  so  much  desired,  and  it 
may  be  necessary  to  first  make  them  feel  its  value.  A  sin- 
gle illustration  of  how  this  may  be  done  is  quoted  from 
Miss  Bernard  of  Poona.  "  In  the  villages  there  is  usually 
some  idol  shrine  in  sight.  I  have  found  this  arrest  atten- 
tion :  *  I  see  a  god  there ;  yours,  is  it  not  so  ?  Some  one 
died  in  your  village  yesterday  or  last  week.  Did  that  god 
of  yours  send  for  him?  Did  he  go  to  him? '  The  answer 
is  always,  *  No,  not  to  him,  but  to  the  Upper  God.'  *  Not 
your  god ;  you  too  are  going  to  die  some  day ;  you  will  have 
to  go  to  that  Upper  God.  Do  you  know  Him?  Will  you 
come  with  me  to  England  ? '  You  say,  *  No,  I  don't  know 
any  one  there ;  how  can  I  ?  *  *  True ;  but  you  will  have  to 
go  to  an  unknown  God,  in  an  unknown  country,  by  an  un- 
known way.  Had  you  not  better  in  time  learn  to  know 
Him.' "' 

HI.    Educational  Work 

I.  Vernacular  Schools  —  Anns.  —  So  soon  as  the  forms 
of  effort  above  described  have  brought  forth  their  legiti- 
mate fruit,  there  is  laid  upon  the  Church  the  necessity  for 
developing  the   material   furnished.     Christian   education 

^Report  of  the  Third  Decennial  Missionary  Conference,  held  at 
Bombay,  i89?9S,  p.   ,-»i8. 


WAYS  OF   WORKING  195 

renders  this  service,  and  it  also  is  a  direct  feeder  to  the 
Church.  The  main  objects  of  the  vernacular  schools,  as 
distinguished  from  those  in  which  English  is  the  medium 
of  instruction,  are  thus  set  forth  in  the  Madras  Conference 
Report :  "  According  to  the  testimony  of  the  various  mis- 
sions, vernacular  education  serves  a  twofold  purpose  in 
mission  economy.  A  vernacular  school  is  one  of  the  best 
means  of  opening  up  evangelistic  work  in  a  village.  The 
high  respect  in  which  a  teacher  is  held  in  this  country 
and  the  great  desire  which  the  people  have  for  education 
give  the  teacher  in  a  village  school  a  unique  opportunity ; 
and,  if  he  is  the  right  kind  of  a  man,  he  can  do  much  in 
helping  to  extend  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  The  Wesleyan 
missions  of  Ceylon  estimate  that,  directly  or  indirectly, 
they  owe  about  sixty-five  per  cent,  of  their  converts  to  the 
vernacular  schools.  The  other  purpose  which  vernacular 
schools  serve  is  to  fit  our  Christians  to  read  the  Word  of 
God.  And  again,  by  learning  to  read  and  write,  Christians 
will  be  able  to  raise  their  position  in  society  and  make 
themselves  more  useful  members  of  the  community.  We 
urge  a  sustained  effort  to  educate  all  our  Christian  youth 
to  read  and  write  at  least.  We  recognize  that,  in  the  in- 
creased attention  which  Government  is  paying  to  primary 
education  at  present,  there  is  a  great  opportunity  for  mis- 
sions to  extend  their  work  in  this  direction."^ 

Varieties.  —  The  vernacular  schools  usually  are  for  a 
single  sex,  but  are  sometimes  intended  for  both  boys  and 
girls,  the  mixed  school  being  more  economical,  as  well  as 
furnishing  a  girl  with  an  escort  in  her  brother.  Some  of 
these  institutions  are  conducted  in  the  interests  of  the  non- 
Christians,  while  others  are  strictly  confined  to  children 
of  Christians.  On  the  whole,  however,  separate  schools 
for  boys  and  girls  and  open  to  Christians  and  non-Chris- 
tians alike  are  most  satisfactory.  There  are  also  govern- 
ment schools  and  many  others  conducted  by  missionaries 
^Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,   igo2,  p.   87, 


196  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPi'OKTUNlTY 

through  grants-in-aid,  received  '  from  the  Government. 
This  assistance  coming  from  the  state  makes  it  necessary 
for  those  schools  receiving  it  to  conform  the  curriculum 
to  government  standards.  While  this  affects  the  second- 
ary and  higher  institutions  unfortunately,  it  is  of  advan- 
tage to  the  primary  schools.  In  no  non-Christian  land, 
except  possibly  Japan,  is  education  so  well  cared  for  as  in 
India.  This  does  not  prove  that  education  is  widely  dis- 
seminated, however;  for  in  1901  there  were  only  147,344 
institutions  all  told,  with  4,417,422  scholars.  That  means 
that  but  one  person  out  of  every  sixty-six  is  under  instruc- 
tion, and  of  that  number  almost  three-fourths  are  in 
schools  of  the  primary  grade.^  This  fact  and  the  further 
consideration  that  only  a  trifle  more  than  fifteen  per  cent, 
of  India's  schools  are  public,  the  remainder  being  either 
aided  or  private  and  unaided,  show  the  need  of  missionary 
vernacular  schools. 

2.  Higher  Institutions.  —  These  are  in  most  cases 
boarding  schools,  institutions  for  helpers,  or  colleges.  The 
latter  are  often  affiliated  to  one  of  the  five  Government 
Universities,  the  Universities  being  merely  examining 
bodies  and  having  no  instructional  work.  English  is  used 
in  practically  all  of  these  institutions  and  is  the  avenue  not 
only  to  government  positions,  but  it  also  opens  up  to  the 
student  a  field  of  religious  and  other  literature  which  is 
of  the  utmost  helpfulness.  While  the  University  Exam- 
inations, toward  which  most  students  look,  minimize  or 
wholly  ignore  the  Christian  instruction  given  in  mission- 
ary colleges  and  make  secular  studies  and  proficiency  in 
English  of  supreme  importance,  the  value  of  their  work 
from  a  missionary  point  of  view  is  as  great  to-day  as  when 
Alexander  Duff,  the  first  great  advocate  of  higher  educa- 
tion, propounded  this  thesis,  his  comparison  being  be- 
tween the  work  of  the  evangelistic  missionary  and  that 
of  the  Christian  educator:  "  While  you  engage  in  directly 
^  Statesman's   Y ear-Book,  1903,  p.    143, 


WAYS  OF  WORKING  1(J7 

separating  as  many  atoms  from  the  mass  as  the  stubborn 
resistance  to  ordinary  appHances  can  admit,  we  shall,  with 
the  blessing  of  God,  devote  our  time  and  strength  to  the 
preparing  of  a  mine  and  the  setting  of  a  train,  which  shall 
one  day  explode  and  tear  up  the  whole  from  its  lowest 
depths."^ 

Aitchison's  Testimony.  —  While  there  is  no  question 
about  the  value  of  the  schools  intended  for  the  preparation 
and  training  of  catechists  and  native  pastors,  a  perennial 
controversy  has  been  waged  over  the  use  of  English  in  the 
earlier  time  and  until  the  present  as  to  the  advisability  of 
carrying  on  missionary  colleges  wnth  the  handicaps  due 
to  government  regulations  and  influences.  Few  utterances 
of  the  past  twenty  years  have  so  forcefully  and  authorita- 
tively put  the  case  as  the  following,  coming  from  a  former 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Punjab,  Sir  Charles  U.  Aitch- 
ison,  LL.D. :  "  In  my  judgment  the  value  of  educational 
missionary  institutions,  in  the  present  transition  state  of 
Indian  opinion,  can  hardly  be  overrated.  The  importance 
of  mission  schools  and  colleges  is  even  greater  now  than 
when  Duff  initiated  his  educational  policy  and  converted 
a  reluctant  General  Assembly  to  his  views.  His  argument 
then  was,  that  Hinduism  is  so  wedded  to  a  cosmogony 
demonstrably  false,  that  Western  education  of  any  kind 
became  a  direct  missionary  agency,  effective  at  least  in 
overthrowing  the  false  religions.  Experience  has  amply 
justified  his  views  —  so  much  so  that,  in  the  work  of  de- 
stroying the  heathen  beliefs,  the  government  secular 
schools,  the  railways,  and  the  telegraphs,  have  done  as  ef- 
fective work  as  the  missionaries  themselves.  Educated 
Hindu  society  is  honeycombed  with  unbelief,  and  the  great 
question  of  the  day  in  India  is,  What  will  take  the  place  of 
the  Hindu  gods?  Hence  a  growing  Buddhist  optimism; 
hence  the  revival  of  Vedantic  deism;  hence  the  Brahma 
Samaj  and  other  theistic  societies;  hence,  too,  the  inquiry 

1  Smith,  Life  of  Alexander  Duff,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  io8,  109. 


198  INDIA   AND  CHRISTIAN   OrPORTUNlTY 

and  searching  into  the  Christian  Scriptures,  which  go  on 
in  India  to  an  extent  which  those  who  ignore  missions 
have  no  conception  of.  If  the  breach  that  has  been  made 
is  filled  up, —  if,  in  place  of  Hinduism  we  have  agnosti- 
cism, or  even  a  positive  but  unchristian  belief  with  which 
physical  science  is  not  necessarily  in  antagonism, —  the 
Christian  Church  will  have  to  do  all  the  sapping  and  min- 
ing over  again;  while,  instead  of  the  crumbling  old  for- 
tresses of  heathenism,  we  shall  have  in  front  of  us  strong 
fortifications,  held  and  defended  with  weapons  of  pre- 
cision forged  in  our  own  arsenals.  It  is  of  primary  im- 
portance now,  just  at  the  time  that  the  Government  of 
India  itself  is  looking  anxiously  round  for  some  means  of 
supplementing  the  deficiencies  of  its  own  secular  system  of 
education,  to  get  hold  of  the  youth  of  India  and  impreg- 
nate them  with  Christian  truth.  They  are  the  generation 
in  whose  hands  the  immediate  future  of  India  will  lie,  and 
the  importance  of  bringing  them  under  direct  Christian  in- 
fluences is  beyond  all  calculation.  We  want  institutions 
like  the  Cambridge  Mission  College  at  Delhi,  the  American 
Mission  College  at  Lahore,  and  the  Established  Church 
and  Free  Church  Institutions  at  Calcutta  multiplied  over 
the  country."^ 

Anti-Ckristian  Education.  —  Christian  missions  must 
consider  also  the  efforts  being  put  forth  by  opposers  of 
Christianity  toward  the  combating  of  its  truths  through 
education.  The  late  S.  H.  Kellogg,  D.  D.,  says  concerning 
such  education :  "  The  anti-Christian  spirit  of  modern 
India  is  using  high  Anglo-vernacular  education  for  its  own 
ends  and  is  establishing  large  high-class  schools  and  col- 
leges on  an  avowedly  anti-Christian  basis.  An  illustration 
is  the  Mohammedan  College  in  Aligarh,  Northwest  Prov- 
inces, founded  by  that  eminent  Mohammedan  gentleman, 
lately  deceased.  Sir  Saiyid  Ahmad.  Another  example  is 
the  large  college  of  the  Arya  Samaj  in  Lahore.     This  has 

1  Smith,  Conversion  of  India,  pp.  187,  188. 


WAYS  OF   WORKING  199 

410  students,  the  largest  of  any  college  in  Lahore,  and  pre- 
pares men  to  pass  B.  A.  and  other  examinations  in  the 
Punjab  University.  The  avowed  aim  of  the  institution  is 
to  promote  the  philosophical  and  religious  principles  incul- 
cated by  the  late  Pundit  Dayanand  Sarasvati,  founder  of 
the  Samaj.  To  this  end,  in  addition  to  the  studies  required 
to  pass  the  various  examinations  of  the  University,  all  stu- 
dents must  devote  three,  and  Sanskrit  students  four,  pe- 
riods a  week  to  the  study  of  the  Arya  doctrines.  Than  the 
Arya  Samaj,  Christianity  has  no  more  deadly  enemy  in 
India.  In  its  active  and  unceasing  hostility  to  all  mission- 
ary effort,  it  can  only  be  compared  with  Islam.  The  ques- 
tion then  returns  to  us,  Should  we  allow  men  who  grad- 
uate from  such  colleges  to  remain  under  the  impression 
that  to  the  anti-Christian  argument  drawn  from  modern 
science  and  philosophy,  evangelical  Christians  have  no 
answer  to  give  and  that  science  has  vanquished  Christian- 
ity? Ought  we  not  in  the  persons  of  living  teachers  and 
preachers  of  the  Word  rather  show  that,  so  far  from  being 
destructive  of  faith  in  the  Gospel,  it  is  quite  possible  for  an 
educated  man  to  accept  honestly  all  that  is  accepted  by  the 
consensus  of  scholars  as  settled  fact  in  science,  and  yet 
believe  none  the  less  firmly  that  Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the 
dead  the  third  day,  according  to  our  Gospel,  and  therewith 
all  the  other  great  truths  as  to  man's  ruin  and  redemption, 
which  Christ  and  His  apostles  so  indubitably  taught?"^ 

Woman's  Education.  —  The  higher  education  of  Hindu 
girls  and  young  women  has  been  brought  about  after  long 
struggles  against  native  prejudice  and  even  Christian  crit- 
icism. Naturally  the  objection  was  strongest  against  the 
colleges,  and  not  until  1886  was  the  Isabella  Thoburn  Col- 
lege at  Lucknow  established  by  Miss  Thoburn  of  the  Meth- 
odists of  the  United  States.  This  first  Christian  college 
for  women  known  in  Asia  —  a  wholly  secular  one  had  been 
established  at  Calcutta  some  time  before  —  was  followed 

^Missionary  Revieiv  of  the  World,  December,  1899,  pp.  885,  886, 


200  INDIA    AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

by  another  in  1890,  the  Sarah  Tucker  College  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  and  the  Church  of  England 
Zenana  Missionary  Society,  located  at  Palamcotta.  Every 
worker  in  such  colleges  shares  to  a  degree  in  the  eulogium 
of  Dr.  Oldham,  passed  upon  the  founder  of  the  Lucknow 
institution,  Miss  Thoburn :  "  The  patient,  earnest  worker 
had  won  her  battle  against  misunderstandings  and  ques- 
tions on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  against  the  stolid, 
apathetic  indifference  to  woman's  training  that  character- 
izes Indian  society.  Not  the  least  contribution  which  her 
work  has  made  to  the  progress  of  that  great  people,  to 
whom  she  gave  thirty-one  years  of  her  fruitful  life,  is  the 
keen  desire  of  the  male  workers  to  find  educated  wives  and 
the  equally  earnest  resolve  of  the  Indian  pastors  and  lead- 
ers to  give  their  daughters  the  best  possible  training.  To 
have  borne  conspicuous  part  in  transforming  any  portion 
of  Indian  society,  so  that  those  who  a  generation  or  two 
ago  looked  upon  women  as  little  above  the  clods  of  the 
earth  should  now  begin  to  covet  college  training  for  them, 
is  surely  to  have  secured  very  large  returns  from  a  life's 
investment.  She  found  an  infant  Christian  Church  gath- 
ered mainly  from  the  poor  and  unprivileged;  she  found 
the  women  of  this  Church  illiterate,  burdened,  incapable  of 
much  progress;  she  took  the  girls  and  made  from  them  a 
new  type  of  Indian  women  such  as  were  never  dreamed 
of."^  Unfortunately  the  high  privileges  of  women's  col- 
leges are  enjoyed  by  only  one-fiftieth  as  many  students 
as  are  found  in  Christian  colleges  for  young  men.^  Yet 
this  lack  is  partly  made  up  by  the  advantages  gained  from 
study  in  166  boarding  schools,  having  13,514  pupils.^ 

Trained  Educators.  —  The  increasing  importance  of  the 
educational  work  in  India  makes  a  new  demand  upon  the 
missions  and  the  home  Church.     This  is  voiced  in  a  reso- 

^  Effective    Workers  in  Needy   Fields,   p.    107. 
*  Dennis,  Centennial  Survey  of  Foreign  Missions,  p.  265. 
»  Protestant  Missions  in  India,  Burma,  and  Ceylon,  Statistical  Tables, 
1900,  p.  63. 


The  Isabella  Thoburn  Collegej  Lucknow 


mm:^'^0>'^ 


Forman  Christian  College,  Lahore 


WAYS  OF  WORKING  201 

lution  passed  at  Madras  in  1902:  "  The  Conference  would 
press  upon  mission  committees  the  necessity  of  seeing  that 
educational  missionaries  are  trained  to  teach.  The  educa- 
tional missionary  must  henceforth  be  regarded  much  more 
as  a  specialist,  like  the  medical  and  artisan  missionary  re- 
quiring a  preliminary  training  in  his  specialty."^  It  is  the 
more  important  because  the  grade  of  mission  institutions 
and  the  grants-in-aid  depend  upon  pedagogical  ability. 

3.  Industrial  Education.  —  Although  industrial  educa- 
tion has  been  carried  on  by  the  London  Missionary  Society 
at  Nagercoil,  beginning  in  1823,  under  the  Basel  Evangeli- 
cal Missionary  Society  at  Calicut  and  Mangalore  from 
1844  and  1846,  respectively,  and  by  the  American  Baptists 
at  Bassein,  Burma,  since  1861,  the  special  development  of 
this  form  of  education  lies  within  a  few  years.  Thus 
twenty-three  of  the  fifty-four  such  institutions  reported  by 
Dr.  Dennis'  have  been  established  since  the  beginning  of 
1890.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  demands  of  an  increasing 
church  membership  and  the  necessities  of  famine  and 
plague  years.  Womanly  industries  and  the  ordinary  trades 
are  taught  at  these  schools,  usually  in  connection  with  the 
most  important  branches  of  a  general  education.  The 
ideal  which  the  missionaries  have  in  mind  in  those  schools 
giving  trade  instruction  is  as  follows :  "  This  Conference 
is  of  opinion  that  all  definite  trade  instruction  should  rest 
on  the  basis  of  a  sound  general  education,  the  aim  of  which 
from  the  first  should  be  to  educate  to  their  fullest  extent 
the  powers  of  hand  and  eye  as  being  calculated  to  develop 
those  faculties  in  the  pupils  which  will  be  of  the  greatest 
service  to  them  as  artisans  and  imbue  them  with  a  taste 
for  manual  pursuits."^  It  does  not  cease  with  the  training 
of  the  school  but  prepares  students  for  the  actual  work  in 
a  native  shop  or  mission  factory. 

^  Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  1902,  pp.  85,  86. 

'Dennis,  Centennial  Survey  of  Foreign  Missions,  pp.    108-111. 

'Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  p.   141. 


202  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 


IV.    Medical  Missionary  Effort 

I.  The  Field  and  Need.  —  In  view  of  the  fact  that  Great 
Britain's  rulers  have  provided  to  some  extent  medical  aid 
for  India's  millions,  it  may  seem  superfluous  to  emphasize 
the  work  of  medical  missions  in  this  field.  Dr.  Dennis  has 
this  to  say  of  the  need  of  competent  practitioners  in  that 
Empire :  "  Sickness  is  often  ascribed  to  demons,  or  to  the 
anger  of  gods  and  goddesses  who  are  thought  to  preside 
over  epidemics,  and  who  must  be  propitiated  in  order  to 
secure  their  suppression.  '  Killed  by  ignorance  '  is  still  the 
verdict  in  numberless  cases  of  fatality;  and  when  we  re- 
member that  the  total  number  of  deaths  in  India  every 
year  is  between  five  and  six  millions,  we  can  appreciate 
how  disastrous  are  the  results  of  quackery,  which  has,  no 
doubt,  been  the  only  ministry  which  the  vast  majority  have 
received  in  their  fatal  illnesses.  To  be  sure,  the  old  system 
with  its  charms  and  incantations,  its  profitless  and  often 
cruel  remedies,  is  gradually  passing  away;  yet  the  native 
hakim  is  the  only  recourse  in  the  case  of  vast  multitudes. 
It  is  estimated  by  Sir  William  Moore  that  *  not  five  per 
cent,  of  the  population  is  reached  by  the  present  system  of 
medical  aid.'  Even  in  the  great  cities,  where  there  are 
hospitals  and  dispensaries,  more  than  half  the  people  die 
imattended  in  sickness  either  by  educated  doctor  or  native 
quack.  '  If  this  is  the  case  in  the  cities,'  writes  Dr.  Wan- 
less,  *  what  must  be  the  condition  in  the  566,000  villages, 
each  with  a  population  of  less  than  500,  without  even  a 
native  doctor?  '  The  difficulties  attending  medical  practice 
in  India  arising  from  the  severity  of  the  conventional  rules 
of  society  add,  no  doubt,  to  the  volume  of  neglect  to  which 
we  have  referred.  In  an  instructive  discussion  in  the 
pages  of  The  Indian  Magazine  and  Review  for  the  latter 
part  of  the  year  1895  and  the  earlier  numbers  of  1896,  con- 
cerning *  Medical  Aid  to  Indian  Women,'  are  to  be  found 


WAYS  OF   WORKING  203 

repeated  references  to  the  lamentable  woes  of  Indian  women 
in  times  of  illness  and  suffering,  even  though,  as  in  many 
instances,  medical  aid  might  be  available.  It  is  a  question 
whether  the  so-called  hakim  or  vaidyas,  with  their  foolish 
and  worthless  remedies,  are  any  relief,  or  whether  to  be 
unattended  is  not  a  milder  fate  than  to  be  ministered  to  by 
those  who  will  gravely  prescribe  the  powdered  horn  of  the 
sacred  bull  as  a  remedy  of  special  efficacy,  or  who  repeat 
verses  out  of  their  sacred  books  for  the  relief  of  a  person 
who  has  been  bitten  by  a  poisonous  insect."^ 

2.  The  Force.  —  According  to  the  April,  1903,  issue  of 
Medical  Missions  in  India,  there  were  at  that  date  258  mis- 
sionaries who  v/ere  medical  graduates  or  licentiates,  of 
whom  109  are  men  and  149  are  women  —  a  marked  in- 
crease over  a  list  published  by  the  same  periodical  in  1895, 
when  there  were  only  140  qualified  medical  missionaries, 
of  whom  seventy-eight  were  men  and  sixty-two  were 
women.  To  aid  these  workers  there  were  in  1900  125  hos- 
pitals and  212  dispensaries,  containing  2,371  beds.  The 
total  agency  connected  with  these  missions  was  666  Chris- 
tians and  ninety-three  non-Christians.^ 

3.  Aims.  —  Various  considerations  lead  to  the  medical 
missionary  work  in  India.  "  Its  object,  of  course,"  writes 
Dr.  Sommerville  of  Jodhpur,  "  is  primarily  to  evangelize ; 
and  the  main  argument  for  its  use  is  that  it  can  evangelize 
under  specially  favorable  circumstances,  under  conditions 
which  lay  the  heart  bare  and  bring  spiritual  concerns  into 
near  contact  and  sharper  focus  than  is  the  case  in  the  or- 
dinary circumstances  of  daily  life.  It  conies  armed  with 
the  sympathy  of  humanity  at  its  best,  and  excites,  at  least 
for  the  time  being,  a  responsive  gratitude,  which  with  ac- 
companying impressibility  may  be  turned  to  account  for 
spiritual  ends."*    Yet  it  also  has  a  broader  basis,  as  a  reso- 

*  Dennis,  Christian  Missions  and  Social  Progress,  vol.  i.,  pp.  191,  192. 

*  Protestant  Missions  in  India,  Burma,  and  Ceylon,  Statistical  Tables, 
1900,  pp.  62,  62- 

*  Medical  Missions  in   India^   January,    1902,  p.    100. 


204  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

lution  of  the  recent  Madras  Conference  indicates :  "  Rec- 
ognizing it  to  be  one  of  the  best  agencies  for  removing 
prejudice,  for  overcoming  opposition,  for  opening  closed 
doors,  we  would  also  claim  for  it  a  foremost  place  in  em- 
phasizing the  practical  humanitarian  side  of  Christianity; 
and  we  desire  to  commend  this  agency  to  those  missions 
which  have  not  yet  adopted  it  as  a  form  of  evangelistic 
work."  Lest  the  higher  ideal  should  be  underestimated, 
the  second  resolution  reads :  "  The  medical  missionary 
should  personally  organize  the  spiritual  work  in  the  hos- 
pitals or  dispensaries  under  his  charge  and  should  take  an 
active  part  in  it.  There  should  be  daily  teaching  in  the 
wards  according  to  some  well-arranged  plan ;  and  in  addi- 
tion to  this,  the  medical  missionary  should  aim  at  indi- 
vidual dealing  with  the  in-patients.  All  Christian  medical 
assistants  should  be  encouraged  and  trained  to  do  spiritual 
work.  In  large  medical  missions,  the  co-operation  of 
evangelistic  missionaries  and  native  evangelists  is  impor- 
tant; and  these  should  endeavor  to  follow  up  the  work  in 
the  homes  of  former  patients,  especially  those  who  have 
appeared  interested  in  the  teaching."* 

4.  Medical  Work  for  Women.  — "  Medical  work  for 
women  and  children  finds  in  India  to-day  perhaps  its  most 
urgent  call.  There  is  more  need  and  suffering  among 
them  than  among  men.''"  It  is  especially  needed  in  the 
homes  of  the  wealthy.  A  woman  physician  is  the  physical 
savior  of  those  who  say  of  the  medical  man,  "  We  would 
rather  die  than  go  to  his  hospital,  or  be  seen  by  him."  In 
maternity  cases  particularly  she  is  sorely  needed,  and 
everywhere  she  is  the  opener  of  doors  and  the  healer  of 
souls,  as  well  as  of  sick  bodies.  Dr.  George  Smith  regards 
this  branch  of  the  missionary  scheme  of  so  great  value, 
that  he  writes  of  America's  share  in  it  during  the  earlier 
decades  of  the  work :    '*  The  greatest  of  all  the  blessings 

^Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  1902,  pp,  no,  \s\, 


WAYS  OF  WORKING  205 

which  the  evangeHcal  churches  of  America  have  conferred 
upon  the  people  of  British  India  is  that  of  heaUng  their 
sick  women,  and  thus  powerfully  showing  the  practically 
imprisoned  inmates  of  the  zenana  and  harem  and  the  mul- 
titudes of  widows,  so  many  of  whom  have  never  been 
wives,  that  to  them  the  Kingdom  of  God  has  come.  Till 
recently  Great  Britain  could  not  thus  do  what  the  liberal 
educational  system  of  the  United  States  had  long  enabled 
women  medical  missionaries  to  begin."^  It  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  first  woman  medical  missionary  ever 
commissioned  was  Clara  Swain,  M.  D.,  who  was  sent  to 
India  by  the  Woman's  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  1869.  In  a  volume  written  by  Mrs.  S.  Arm- 
strong-Hopkins, M.  D.,  IVitJiin  tlie  Purdah,  one  gets  an 
inside  view  of  the  wealthiest  titled  families  of  India  and 
sees  what  a  Christian  physician  can  accomplish  for  their 
immured  inmates.  Such  pictures  are  at  the  opposite  pole 
of  missionary  experience  from  those  found  in  Miss  Car- 
michael's  account  of  low-caste  work,  found  in  Things  as 
They  Are. 

5.  One  Case.  —  A  case  reported  by  Dr.  Clark,  laboring 
in  Amritsar,  the  sacred  city  of  the  Sikhs,  gives  one  an  idea 
of  the  work :  "  A  hot  summer's  day  !  Earth  and  sky  are 
ablaze  with  heat;  the  sun  shines  down  with  pitiless  glare; 
every  living  thing  seeks  shelter  from  the  intense  heat  — 
even  the  very  crows  are  going  about  with  wide  open  bill 
gasping  for  breath;  and  the  painfully  energetic  fly  has 
not  determination  enough  to  buzz  about.  A  weary,  trying 
day  for  the  strong  and  healthy;  one  of  misery  for  the 
sick.  Here  they  are,  a  motley  crew,  waiting  for  the  ring 
of  the  bell  which  ushers  them  one  by  one  into  the  consult- 
ing room  of  the  Amritsar  Medical  Mission  Hospital,  where 
with  the  thermometer  at  101°  we  are  doing  our  best  to 
minister  to  body  and  soul.  Almost  all  the  ills  to  which 
flesh  h  heir  seem  in  evidence  to-day.  One  after  another 
*  Smith,  Conversion  of  India,  p,  16%, 


206  INDIA  AND  CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

comes  in  and  goes  out,  yet  the  crowd  outside  seems  to  be  as 
large  as  ever.  What  a  world  of  misery  of  soul  and  body 
have  we  here !  Look  at  this  old  dame,  with  hair  like 
driven  snow,  tall  and  erect  as  if  she  had  but  lived  some 
score  of  years,  instead  of  near  to  the  four-score  years  of 
man's  allotted  span.  *  Son,  I  will  give  all  I  have,  bear  all 
pain,  do  anything,  if  thou  wilt  give  me  my  sight  but  for 
one  single  moment,'  and  then  she  tells  us  she  lost  her  sight 
some  years  ago.  *  Grandmother,  your  days  on  earth  can 
not  be  many  —  the  shadows  are  lengthening  into  night; 
why  undertake  all  this  pain  and  weariness  for  a  fleeting 
good  ?  *  say  we.  *  Son,'  she  replies,  *  since  I  became  blind 
a  little  grandson  has  been  born  to  me.  He  is  the  only  one 
I  have,  and  I  have  never  seen  his  face.  We  are  Hindus, 
and,  as  you  know,  we  believe  in  transmigration.  I  must 
die,  and  then  I  shall  become  a  cat,  or  a  dog,  or  a  frog, — 
we  must  be  reborn  eighty- four  million  times,^  —  and  the  lad 
will  become  a  cow,  or  a  hen,  or  crow.  After  this  life  he 
is  mine  and  I  am  his  no  more.  H  I  don't  see  him  now,  I 
shall  never  see  him  again,  for  through  all  eternity  our 
lives  will  never  again  touch ;  and,  oh,  I  do  want  to  see  the 
laddie's  face  before  I  die ! '  The  heart-breaking  pathos  of 
that  voice  and  the  '  never  through  all  eternity '  ring  in  my 
ears  as  I  write ;  and  the  picture  of  that  venerable  face  with 
the  upturned,  sightless  eyes  and  the  longing,  pleading  look 
on  it  will  not  easily  be  forgotten.  She  heard  of  the  Chris- 
tian's hope,  '  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  —  in  my 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions ;  I  go  to  prepare  a  place 
for  you  —  I  will  come  again.'  And  as  she  heard,  the  poor 
old  eyes  were  brimful  — '  Ah,  in  such  words  you  Chris- 
tians have  heaven  now,  but  for  us  there  is  no  hope.'  Type, 
alas,  poor  woman,  of  the  millions  in  India  without  God  and 
without  hope.  In  passing,  I  may  add,  she  made  a  splendid 
recovery  from  the  operation  I  performed;  the  result  was 

^  The  number  of  transmigrations  as  commonly  given  is  eighty- four 
lakhs,  8,400,000.  Sec,  e.  g.,  Monier-Williams,  Brahmanism  and  Hindu- 
ism, p.  173. 


WAYS  OF   WORKING  207 

excellent,  and  I  trust  she  saw  the  little  grandson  many  a 
day."^  The  value  of  such  work  is  evident  from  another 
quotation  from  the  same  writer :  "  Medically,  as  regards 
out-patients,  we  are  the  largest  medical  mission  in  the 
world;  though  as  regards  in-patients  we  are  far  behind  a 
number  of  others.  During  1891,  when  Dr.  Charles  Martin 
was  in  charge  for  ten  months  and  Dr.  Arthur  Lankester 
for  two,  no  less  than  59,762  visits  were  recorded,  and 
somewhere  about  2,500  operations  w^ere  performed,  and 
about  250  in-patients  were  treated.  That  work,  grand  as 
it  is,  would  be  at  the  best  a  splendid  failure  from  the  mis- 
sionary point  of  view,  were  it  not  that  these  people  have 
been  brought  under  Christian  influences  and  had  the  Gos- 
pel preached  to  them ;  for  it  is  our.  aim  to  let  no  one,  who 
comes  to  us  for  healing,  go  away  without  hearing  of  the 
Savior."' 

V.    Christian  Literature 

I.  Its  Importance.  —  The  importance  of  Christian  lit- 
erature in  Indian  missions  is  suggested  in  a  paper  read  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Jones  at  a  meeting  of  the  International  Mission- 
ary Union  in  1902,  of  which  this  is  the  substance:  "Of 
the  Tamil  native  Protestant  Christians,  260,000  were  re- 
quiring more  literature  than  could  be  furnished,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  non-Christians 
who  could  read  and  were  without  literature  fit  to  circu- 
late. Fifty  thousand  of  these  Tamil  Christians  could  read. 
There  were  in  India  forty-one  Christian  presses  and  pub- 
lishing houses,  issuing  200,000  pages  annually.  There 
were  in  circulation  seventy-six  translations  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  eighteen  tract  societies  had  published  40,000,000 
copies  of  their  publications.  There  are  147  magazines  and 
other  periodicals  published  in  India  for  native  Christians, 

''■Church  Missionary  Cleaner,  December,  1892,  p.  190. 
'Ibid.,  July,   1893,  p.   105. 


208  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

with  an  average  circulation  of  a  thousand  each.  There 
are  in  India  15,000,000  readers  among  native  peoples;  not 
less  than  a  million  youths  are  sent  forth  annually  from  its 
institutions  v^^ith  an  ability  to  read  some  in  English,  but 
mostly  in  vernaculars,  and  with  eagerness  to  peruse  any- 
thing that  may  be  sent  forth  from  Christian  presses.  The 
books  accessible  from  native  presses  are  morally  unwhole- 
some. .  .  .  If  we  despise  this  day  of  great  opportunity 
in  this  increasingly  important  department  of  work,  it  will 
not  only  handicap  us  seriously  in  other  departments ;  it  will 
also  delay  considerably  the  coming  of  the  great  day  to 
which  we  all  look  with  so  much  eagerness."^ 

2.  Approved  Principles.  —  The  settled  principles  under- 
lying this  work  are  clearly  set  forth  in  the  Madras  Confer- 
ence report,  and  four  of  them  are  subjoined:  "(2)  To 
meet  the  great  and  growing  need  for  Christian  literature, 
men  should  be  set  apart  to  organize  the  preparation  of 
suitable  books,  tracts,  and  leaflets,  and  to  increase  their  cir- 
culation. In  every  large  language  area,  one  or  more  per- 
sons should  be  set  apart  for  this  purpose;  and  in  the 
smaller  language  areas  a  missionary  with  literary  aptitude 
should  be  relieved  of  other  cares  as  much  as  possible,  that 
he  may  give  the  larger  part  of  his  time  to  literary  work  in 
that  vernacular.  This  will  require  men  of  special  gifts 
and  wide  culture,  who  should  not  only  be  able  to  write  ef- 
fectively themselves,  but  also  to  stimulate  and  guide  others 
in  this  direction.  .  .  .  (4)  The  literature  published 
should  be  especially  prepared  for  the  people  of  the  land. 
Much  discussion  has  taken  place  regarding  the  use  of 
translations,  and  it  is  generally  agreed  that  except  the  Bible 
very  few  English  or  other  books  will  repay  the  labor  of  a 
close  translation  into  an  Eastern  tongue.  The  translator 
must  be  free  to  add,  alter,  adapt,  and  reject  as  he  proceeds. 
The  preparation  of  an  original  work  should  be  ordinarily 
in  the  vernacular  itselT;  but  in  some  eases,  in  wbiph  the 

^  Ini^rnational  Mi^4o>iary  Index,  igos,  p,  41, 


.WAYS  OF  WORKING  209 

book  is  likely  to  be  useful  in  more  than  one  language,  Eng- 
lish may  be  used  by  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  re- 
ligious and  secular  thought  of  the  people  and  then  transla- 
tions made  into  different  vernaculars.  The  writers  must 
be  prepared  to  recognize  everything  helpful  and  true  in 
the  religion, literature, customs,  and  practices  of  the  people; 
and  in  all  their  preparation  they  must  have  ever  in  view 
the  persons  among  whom  the  publication  is  to  circulate. 
(5)  The  literature  must  be  idiomatic  in  style,  abounding 
in  illustration  and  imagery,  and  thoroughly  intelligible  to 
the  people.  (6)  The  publications  should  be  clearly  printed, 
and  where  possible  suitable  pictorial  illustrations  should  be 
inserted.  It  need  not  be  said  that  the  picture  should  illus- 
trate the  letter-press,  and  not  the  letter-press  the  picture."^ 
3.  Colporfage.  —  Having  secured  a  sufficient  supply  of 
suitable  literature,  it  must  be  widely  circulated  to  become 
an  effective  missionary  agency.  The  Madras  Conference 
made  the  following  recommendations  in  this  connection: 
"(i)  A  stock  of  books  and  tracts  should  be  kept  in  every 
station  and  where  possible  a  book-shop  opened.  (2)  The 
missionary  should  see  that  each  evangelist  takes  with  him 
a  supply  of  suitable  literature  for  sale  or  free  distribution. 
(3)  After  every  preaching  service,  books  should  be  of- 
fered for  sale.  (4)  A  person  should  be  appointed  to  sell 
in  every  local  market,  for  then  the  people  have  money  and 
are  more  likely  to  buy.  In  some  places  it  will  be  possible 
to  visit  the  railway  station  for  a  similar  purpose.  (5) 
While  traveling  by  train,  many  a  leaflet  or  tract  will  be 
gratefully  accepted  and  read  by  travelers.  Much  literature 
can  also  be  disposed  of  to  workmen  during  the  hour  al- 
lowed for  food,  (6)  School  teachers,  zenana  visitors, 
Bible  women,  and  workers  in  hospitals  should  be  encour- 
aged to  sell  publications.  (7)  Colporters  should  be  ap- 
pointed where  a  proper  number  of  books  can  be  sold,"* 

»  Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  1902,  pp.  j68,  169, 
nm.,  pp,  I77f  J78* 


210  INDIA  AND  CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 


VI.    Work  for  the  Native  Church 

1.  Composition.  —  It  should  be  remembered  that  the 
vast  majority  of  the  native  church  members  are  of  low- 
castes.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  better  classes  are  un- 
represented. The  work  of  S.  Modak  of  Ahmednagar 
proves  the  remarkable  strength  of  the  Church  in  this  par- 
ticular.^ Yet  "  it  is  from  the  Karens,  the  Telugus,  the  San- 
tals,  the  Chamars,  the  Kols,  the  Khasis,  the  Shanars,  the 
Chuhras,  and  other  tribes  of  like  standing,  that  the  present 
Indian  Church  has  received  the  great  body  of  its  member- 
ship; and  the  Salvation  Army  seems  to  get  a  large  part  of 
its  soldiers  from  the  Dheds  of  Gujarat,  the  Mahars  of 
Poona,  and  the  Pariahs  of  Cape  Comorin.  No  remarkable 
work  has  ever  yet  been  reported  among  the  Brahmans,  the 
Rajputs,  the  Kshattriyas,  or  even  the  Mohammedans.'"  In 
this  respect  the  Indian  Church  resembles  at  the  present 
stage  the  one  at  Corinth^  and  all  infant  churches  in  semi- 
civilized  lands,  except  Japan. 

2.  Character.  —  An  Indian  clergyman  has  recently 
called  attention  to  the  strong  and  weak  characteristics  of 
his  fellow  church  members.  In  his  opinion  they  have 
gained  through  their  acceptance  of  Christianity  the  free- 
dom which  Christ  always  brings,  especially  to  a  land  that 
has  been  so  bound  to  the  past  as  India;  the  strong  indi- 
viduality which  is  apt  to  come  to  the  man  who  faces  popu- 
lar ridicule,  an  individuality  marked  by  superior  moral 
courage;  self-reliance,  due  to  the  necessity  for  caring  for 
himself  after  being  thrust  out  by  his  caste  and  family;  the 
advantage  which  is  just  beginning  to  come  from  intermar- 
riage among  those  of  differing  castes;  the  freedom  to  en- 
ter new  and  better  emplo3^ments  and  even  to  emigrate  to 

*  See  Modak,  Directory  of  Protestant  Indian  Christians,  vol.  i. 
'  Stewart,  Life  and   Work  in  India,   p.    245. 
»I.   Cor.    1:26-29. 


WAYS  OF   WORKING  211 

Western  lands,  consequent  upon  being  left  without  ancestral 
property  or  attachment  to  a  particular  village;  the  incli- 
nation to  enter  more  fully  into  the  inner  life  of  the  Occi- 
dent, as  the  native  comes  into  intimate  contact  with  for- 
eigners; and  the  superior  training  and  environment  that 
are  the  lot  of  most  Christians.  Mr.  Joshi  has  to  deplore  a 
number  of  undesirable  characteristics  which  he  thinks  have 
come  with  the  new  faith;  the  contact  between  different 
castes  and  races,  brought  about  by  Christianity,  is  thus  far 
mainly  a  mechanical  one;  hereditary  taints  are  difficult  to 
eradicate,  especially  in  South  India;  the  charge  of  selfish- 
ness is  partly  justified  and  is  due  to  the  motto  of  many 
Christians,  Everybody  for  himself  and  God  for  all;  mis- 
sionary tutelage  has  been  a  source  of  weakness  as  well  as 
a  blessing,  so  that  manliness,  straightforwardness,  and 
originality  have  been  lost;  jealousy  is  very  apt  to  pursue 
those  Christians  whose  character  or  abilities  have  raised 
them  above  their  fellows ;  the  general  good  of  the  Christian 
community  is  subordinated  to  personal  differences;  and 
mutual  trust,  so  essential  to  a  strong  Christian  solidarity, is 
lacking  in  very  many.^  The  Madras  Conference  summed 
up  the  great  defects  of  Indian  church  life  in  these  words : 
"  It  is  our  deep  conviction  that  the  greatest  need  in  our 
missions  to-day  is  Christian  Life:  not  more  elaborate 
methods,  or  better  organization  or  new  appliances;  but 
more  life,  the  new  life  from  God,  inbreathed  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  *  working  in  us  that  which  is  well-pleasing  in  his 
sight.'  .  .  .  True  Christian  life  is  absolutely  essen- 
tial to  true  Christian  living.  It  is  evident  that  they  only 
who  really  possess  the  life  of  Christ  will  do  from  the  heart 
the  works  and  will  of  Christ ;  that  they  only  who  have  the 
Holy  Spirit  dwelling  within  them  can  bring  forth  the  fruit 
of  the  Spirit.'" 

*  Rev.   D.  L.   Joshi  in  Church  Missionary  Intelligencer,   April,   1903, 
pp.   269-274. 

'Report  of  the  Madras   Conference,  1902,   p.   21. 


212  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OrPORTUNITV 

3.  Preaching.  —  To  build  up  the  essential  characteristic 
of  a  strong  Church,  the  Christ-like,  spirit-filled  life,  spe- 
cial services  akin  to  Occidental  revival  meetings  are  rec- 
ommended by  the  recent  Conference;  but  the  usual  and 
most  satisfactory  means  of  such  upbuilding  lies  in  the  reg- 
ular ministrations  of  the  local  church.  Dr.  Duff  long  ago 
suggested  the  sort  of  preaching  and  teaching  to  foster  this 
life.  "  In  attempting  to  convey  spiritual  ideas  to  the  mind 
of  such  a  people,"  he  writes,  "  the  abstract,  the  formal,  the 
didactic,  or  intellective  style  of  address,  must  be  wholly 
abandoned.  The  model,  both  as  to  substance  and  manner, 
must  be  taken  from  the  Bible  itself.  Acting  the  part  of  a 
skilful  physician,  the  missionary  must  first  try  to  mark  the 
varying  phases  which  the  radical  disease  of  sin  assumes  in 
the  varying  character  of  those  before  him.  Not  having  the 
supernatural  gift  of  discerning  spirits,  he  must  bring  his 
experience  of  the  deceitfulness  and  desperate  wickedness 
of  his  own  heart,  as  reflected  in  the  mirror  of  revelation,  to 
bear  upon  the  study  of  what  may  be  termed  the  pathology 
of  the  souls  of  others.  Having  succeeded  in  detecting  the 
peculiar  phases  of  the  malady,  he  will  find  in  the  Bible  an 
inexhaustible  materia  medica,  whence  to  supply  the  appro- 
priate remedy.  In  order  most  effectually  to  apply  it,  he 
must  drink  in  the  very  spirit  of  the  symbolic  and  parabolic 
mode  of  instruction,  so  often  employed  by  the  prophets  and 
our  blessed  Savior.  And  he  who  shall  present  the  faithful 
imitations  of  it,  he  who  shall  embody  divine  truth  in  the 
most  striking  emblems  or  pictorial  images,  will  assuredly 
be  the  most  successful  in  reaching  the  understanding  and 
lastingly  impressing  the  hearts  of  the  great  masses  of  the 
people."^ 

An  Illustration.  —  The  Indianizing  of  Scripture  truth, 
to  which  Dr.  Duff  alludes,  is  illustrated  in  the  following 
paragraph  from  the  life  of  Ko  Thah-byu,  Dr.  Judson's 
famous  convert,  in  which  the  Karen  apostle  is  commenting 

*  Duff,  Missions  the  Chief  End  of  the  Christian  Church,  pp.  in,  112. 


WAYS  OF  WORKING  21^ 

on  the  parable  of  the  rich  man.  "  A  worldly  man  is  never 
satisfied  with  what  he  possesses.  *  Let  me  have  more 
houses,  more  lands,  more  buffaloes,  more  slaves,  more 
clothes,  more  wives,  more  children  and  grandchildren, 
more  gold  and  silver,  more  paddy  and  rice,  more  boats  and 
vessels;  let  me  be  a  rich  man.'  He  thinks  of  nothing  so 
much  as  of  amassing  worldly  goods.  Of  God  and  religion 
he  is  quite  unmindful;  but  watch  that  man.  On  a  sudden 
his  breath  departs,  and  he  finds  himself  deprived  of  all  he 
possessed  and  valued  so  much.  He  looks  around  and  sees 
none  of  his  former  possessions.    Astonished  he  exclaims: 

*  Where  are  my  slaves  ?  Where  are  my  buffaloes  ?  I  can 
not  find  one  of  them.  Where  are  my  houses  and  my 
chests  of  money?  What  has  become  of  all  my  rice  and 
paddy  that  I  laid  up  in  store?  Where  are  all  the  fine  clothes 
that  cost  me  so  much  ?  I  can  find  none  of  them.  Who 
has  taken  them?  And  where  are  my  wives  and  my  chil- 
dren ?  Ah  !  they  are  all  missing.  I  can  find  none  of  them. 
I  am  lonely  and  poor  indeed.  I  have  nothing.  But  what  is 
this  ? '  The  preacher  here  entered  upon  a  description  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  soul  that  is  lost,  after  which  he  repre- 
sented the  rich  man  as  taking  up  this  lamentation :  '  Oh, 
what  a  fool  I  have  been !  I  neglected  God,  the  only  Savior, 
and  sought  only  worldly  goods  while  on  earth,  and  now  I 
am  undone ! '  While  the  old  man  was  preaching  in  this 
manner  every  eye  was  fixed  on  him,  and  every  ear  was  at- 
tentive. Soon  after  he  pursued  the  following  strain  :  All 
in  this  world  is  misery.  Sickness  and  pain,  fear  and 
anxiety,  wars  and  slaughter,  old  age  and  death,  abound  on 
every  hand.     But  hearken.     God  speaks  from  on  high : 

*  Children,  why  take  you  delight  and  seek  happiness  in  that 
low  village  of  mortality,  that  thicket  of  briers  and  thorns  ? 
Look  up  to  Me ;  I  will  deliver  you  and  give  you  rest,  where 
you  shall  be  forever  blessed  and  happy.'  "^ 

4.     Sunday-schools.  —  Next  to  preaching,  and  superior 

^  Mason,  Life  of  Ko  Thah-byu,  the  Karen  Apostle,  pp.  36,  37. 


214  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPrORTUNITV 

to  it  in  some  respects, —  since  an  Indian  Sunday-school 
contains  the  large  majority  of  the  church,  adults  as  well  as 
children,  —  is  the  work  of  teaching  the  community  the 
truths  of  Christianity  in  the  Sabbath-school.  The  first  one 
of  these  in  India  and  perhaps  in  all  Asia  was  established 
at  Serampore  in  1803.  Not  until  the  formation  of  the  In- 
dia Sunday-school  Union  in  1876,  however,  was  the  organ- 
ized work  of  the  present  day  brought  into  being.  Its  pro- 
gram indicates  the  features  which  are  being  emphasized 
in  this  work  at  the  present  time.  The  objects  of  the  Union 
are:  (i)  To  emphasize  the  spiritual  character  of  Sun- 
day-school teaching;  (2)  to  consolidate  and  extend  Sun- 
day-school work;  (3)  to  educate  teachers  in  the  best  prin- 
ciples and  method  of  Bible  study  and  teaching;  (4)  to 
produce  and  foster  the  growth  of  English  and  vernacular 
literature  suitable  for  teachers  and  scholars;  (5)  to  en- 
courage special  services  among  young  people;  (6)  and  to 
unite  for  mutual  help  all  Sunday-schools  conducted  by 
Protestant  missions  in  Southern  Asia.  Such  ideals  are  in- 
fluencing some  300,000  members  in  Sunday-schools. 

5.  Interdenominational  Societies.  —  Interdenomination- 
al organizations  aid  the  churches  more  than  in  Western 
lands.  Thus  the  Christian  Endeavor  organization  with  an 
experienced  secretary  at  its  head  is  a  most  valuable  ad- 
junct in  various  denominations,  in  that  it  trains  the 
younger  members  of  the  Church  to  independent  and  united 
activities.  The  denominational  societies  of  the  same  sort, 
as  the  Epworth  League,  serve  a  similar  purpose,  except 
that  they  underscore  the  differences  between  the  churches 
instead  of  bringing  their  younger  members  together.  The 
Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's  Christian  Associations 
are  likewise  the  servants  of  the  churches,  though  their  spe- 
cial field  includes  to  a  considerable  extent  the  better  edu- 
cated youth  of  the  Empire.  No  work,  perhaps,  is  more 
strategic  and  widely  useful  to  the  influential  classes  of  the 
future  Church  in  India. 


WAYS  OF  working"  21^ 

6.  Native  Leaders.  —  The  churches  that  are  built  up 
through  these  and  other  agencies  will  be  strong  and  ag- 
gressive largely  in  proportion  as  they  are  under  the  guid- 
ance of  energetic,  resourceful,  and  consecrated  leaders. 
To  the  task  of  raising  up  such  men  and  women  the  mis- 
sions are  giving  mtich  attention.  The  qualities  desired  in 
such  church  leaders,  as  well  as  the  line  of  training  to  be 
adopted,  are  succinctly  set  forth  in  Dr.  Scott's  paper  at  the 
Madras  Conference.  He  would  have  these  agents  taught 
in  such  a  way  as  to  secure:  (i)  Moral  and  spiritual  de- 
velopment; (2)  the  fundamentals  of  theology  resting  on 
the  Bible;  (3)  method  in  thought  and  study,  thus  bringing 
the  student's  mind  into  working  order;  (4)  practical 
workers  as  evangelists  and  pastors;  (5)  as  much  related 
collateral  information  as  can  conveniently  be  imparted; 
(6)  manliness,  physical  and  mental,  good  manners  and 
courtesy.  The  aim  should  be  to  raise  up  workers  adapted 
to  India,  and  not  for  England  or  America.  This  means 
much  practical  work  in  connection  with  the  scholastic 
course,  —  such  work  as  a  previous  paragraph  showed  Mr. 
Eddy  doing.  As  the  following  chapter  will  state,  some 
of  the  chief  problems  in  connection  with  the  native  Church 
have  to  do  with  its  development  in  independence  and  as 
a  self-propagating  force;  hence  a  careful  study  of  these 
problems  and  a  determination  to  cope  with  their  diffi- 
culties will  be  a  prominent  part  of  the  course  of  training. 
It  may  be  added  that  not  only  are  men  and  women  trained 
who  give  their  whole  time  to  the  church  work,  but  it  is  a 
common  thing  for  the  wives  of  men  thus  preparing  to 
receive  special  training  also. 

7.  Church  Evolution  —  the  Field.  —  A  man  so  trained 
may  go  into  a  village  like  this  one  in  North  India :  "  Re- 
member that  the  village  streets  are  narrow  and  filthy, 
often  only  three  or  four  feet  wide;  that  the  houses  are 
all  built  of  mud  and  consist  each  of  only  a  room  or  two, 
facing  a  small  court  which  is  surrounded  by  a  mud  wall; 


2l6  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPrORTUNITY 

that  the  furniture  of  the  poor  people  comprises  simply 
one  or  two  native  bedsteads,  a  spinning  wheel,  some  cook- 
ing utensils,  and  a  few  ether  articles;  that  the  dusky 
children  of  the  place  go  about  without  much  if  any  cloth- 
mg  on,  and  that  generally  the  men,  and  sometirnes  the 
women,  appear  in  such  soiled  and  scanty  attire  that  they 
would  be  arrested  as  public  nuisances  in  any  American 
town.  Remember,  too,  that  the  men  are  generally  absent 
in  daylight  at  their  field  work;  that  all,  old  and  young, 
are  at  the  outset  perfectly  illiterate,  and  that  at  first  there 
is  no  public  meeting-place  except  an  open  common,  where 
a  person  can  collect  the  people  to  give  them  an  address. 

The  Start. —  "  Under  such  circumstances,  the  Christian 
worker  who  has  taken  up  his  abode  among  them,  or  per- 
haps hired  a  house  in  some  more  desirable  quarter,  be- 
gins his  labors.  One  by  one  the  people  are  taught  a  little 
of  God's  Word  and  introduced  into  the  outskirts  of  the 
great  temple  of  divine  truth.  Wherever  he  can  get  an 
opportunity,  two  or  three  persons  are  for  a  few  minutes 
formed  by  him  into  a  class  to  learn  passages  of  Scripture 
and  questions  in  the  catechism  —  women  and  children  by 
day  and  men  at  night  —  and  at  set  periods,  especially  on 
the  Sabbath,  as  many  as  possible  are  assembled  on  the 
common,  or  in  a  private  court,  to  engage  in  more  formal 
worship.  His  work  is  emphatically  *  precept  upon  precept, 
precept  upon  precept  line  upon  line,  line  upon  line;  here 
a  little  and  there  a  little.' 

A  Church.  — "  In  the  course  of  time,  perhaps,  a  small 
mud  building  is  erected  on  the  common,  or  a  purchased 
lot,  —  the  people  themselves  putting  up  the  walls  and  the 
Mission  bearing  the  expense  of  the  woodwork,  —  and  here 
the  worker  and  the  teacher  can  carry  on  their  labors  more 
conveniently.  Possibly,  too,  after  a  while,  a  few  benches, 
a  chair,  and  a  desk  are  put  into  this  building;  and  even  a 
second  room  may  be  added,  which  can  be  occupied  as  a 
rest  house  by  the  missionaries  and  others  when  they  visit 


WAYS  OF  WORKING  21  ^ 

that  part  of  the  country  on  a  tour  of  duty.  For  the  Chris- 
tian laborer  himself  also  r.  permanent  home  is  sometimes 
provided.  Thus  Tic  work  advances  step  by  step."^  It  may 
be  a  lonr;-  time  before  such  a  village  church  lias  a  separate 
existence  and  longer  still  before  a  native  pastor  is  placed 
over  it.  Even  then  years  may  elapse  before  it  exercises 
the  initiative  and  aggressiveness  which  are  so  much 
needed  in  India. 

*  Stewart,  Life  and  Work  in  India,  pp.  263,  264. 


vn 

PROBLEMS  AND   OPPONENTS 

The  work  in  which  India's  missionaries  are  engaged 
gives  rise  to  greater  problems  than  that  in  any  other 
great  mission  field.  Moreover,  with  the  exception  of 
lands  ruled  by  Mohammedans,  there  is  no  other  important 
comitry  in  which  the  opponents  of  Christianity  are  so 
awake  to  the  necessity  of  meeting  the  new  faith  with 
counter-movements  and  active  opposition. 

I.  Modern  Objections  to  Indian  Missions 

1.  Why  Indian  Missions f  —  The  Initial  question 
which  the  missionaries,  because  of  opponents  of  missions 
at  home,  are -forced  to  consider,  is  that  of  the  justification 
for  missions  in  an  Empire  so  providentially  ruled  and  de- 
veloped by  a  Christian  power;  and  if  the  enterprise  is 
justified,  as  all  save  thoughtless  critics  of  missions  in 
general  would  grant,  the  question  of  the  character  of  the 
work  attempted  remains  to  be  answered. 

2.  A  Modern  Objection.  —  Rev.  Dr.  Jones  begins  a 
chapter  on  India's  missionary  problems  with  a  growingly 
common  objection  to  missions  and  the  Christian  answer. 
"  *  Why  do  you  not,'  say  the  advocates  of  a  rigid  doctrine 
of  evolution,  '  leave  those  non-Christian  peoples  to  work 
out  their  own  salvation  through  a  natural  evolution  of 
their  own  faiths?  Let  those  old  crude  religions  pass  into 
something  higher  through  the  natural  process  of  evolu- 
tion,  rather   than   resort   to   the   cataclysmic   method   of 

218 


PROBLEMS    AND   OPPONENTS  219 

overthrowing  the  old  and  introducing  a  faith  that  is  en- 
tirely foreign.  Why  not  let  the  process  of  growth  work 
out  its  own  results,  even  though  it  takes  a  long  time  for 
it?'" 

Reply.  —  Instead  of  replying  from  the  standpoint  of 
India's  religious  history,  which  would  show  tendencies 
to  degradation  instead  of  improvement  during  the  past 
three  thousand  years,  the  following  answer  is  made: 
"  This  objection  to  our  work  is  modern  and  thorough- 
going. Of  course  it  is  equally  pronounced  against  super- 
naturalism  in  all  its  forms  and  ramifications.  It  will  be 
futile  to  reply  to  this  by  appealing  to  the  command  of  our 
Lord  to  go  and  disciple  all  nations.  It  is  enough  to  re- 
mind this  objector  that  the  doctrine  of  evolution  admits 
that  the  highest  Christian  altruism  is  a  part  of  the  evolu- 
tion process.  And  if  that  is  so,  then  the  highest  Christian 
altruism  must  find  its  noblest  exercise  in  the  work 
of  bringing,  by  Christians  to  non-Christians,  those 
ideas  and  that  life  which  they  deem  the  best,  and 
of  which  those  outside  of  Christ  stand  in  urgent 
need.  The  highest  evolution  of  our  race  has  been,  and 
ever  must  be,  through  that  Christian  altruism  which  will 
not  rest  until  the  noblest  truth  and  the  fullest  life  are 
brought  to  all  the  benighted  souls  of  our  race.  Is  not  this 
the  last  message  of  evolution  to  us  at  this  present?  And 
is  it  not  identical  with  the  last  commission  of  our  Lord  to 
His  followers  —  to  go  and  disciple  the  nations?  And 
while  it  is  the  function  of  Christianity  to  maintain  the 
evolution  principle  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  it  does 
this  by  indirection  —  by  seizing  upon  the  most  unfit  and 
unworthy  and  making  them  fit  to  stand  before  God  and 
worthy  to  enjoy  the  life  eternal  in  all  its  glory."^ 

3.    Methods.  —  But  what   are  the  methods   which   will 
best  secure  the  result  demanded  by  evolution  and  by  our 
high  commission?     It  is  a  divisive  question  among  the 
*  Jones,  India's  Problem,  pp.  264,  265. 


220  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

missionary  ranks  in  India;  but  whatever  may  be  ideally 
desirable,  "  the  trend  of  the  times  is  doubtless  in  favor 
of  the  broader,  humanitarian,  philanthropic,  civilizing 
purpose  of  missions,  as  against  the  deeper  and  more  ex- 
clusive, spiritual,  and  Christianizing  end."^  Happily 
there  is  in  the  missionary  body  a  strong  contingent  who 
are  so  convinced  of  the  paramount  necessity  of  something 
more  radical  to  effect  India's  regeneration,  that  they  em- 
phasize constantly  the  spiritual  aims  of  the  missionary  en- 
terprise. Their  strength  and  the  efforts  made  through 
conferences  for  deepening  the  spiritual  life  are  resulting 
in  the  greater  spiritualizing  of  secular  aims,  which  per- 
haps is  the  best  answer  to  the  problem  of  methods. 

II.  Caste  Problems  \ 

1.  Madras  Resolution.  —  A  whole  group  of  questions 
clusters  about  caste,  both  as  it  affects  the  Christian's  rela- 
tions to  the  non-Christian  community,  and  as  it  occasions 
difficulty  among  fellow-Christians.  Yet  the  only  resolu- 
tion concerning  it  at  the  late  Conference  at  Madras  was 
as  follows :  "  The  Conference  would  very  earnestly  em- 
phasize the  dehverance  of  the  South  India  Missionary 
Conference  of  1900,  namely,  that  caste,  wherever  it  ex- 
ists in  the  Church,  be  treated  as  a  great  evil  to  be  dis- 
couraged and  repressed.  It  is  further  of  opinion  that  in 
no  case  should  any  person,  who  breaks  the  law  of  Christ  by 
observing  caste,  hold  any  office  in  connection  with  the 
Church;  and  it  earnestly  appeals  to  all  Indian  Christians 
to  use  all  lawful  means  to  eradicate  so  unchristian  a 
system.'" 

2.  Caste  Problems.  —  Difficulties  arising  from  the 
system  occasion  the  Church  most  concern  in  Southern 
India.     Yet  it  was  here  in  the  enrly  centuries  that  the 

^  Jones,   India's   Problem,    p.    :'83. 

'Report   of  the  Madras  Conference,   1902,   pp.    26,    27. 


PROBLEMS    AND   OrPONENTS  221 

Syrian  Church  took  strong  grounds  against  it,  so  that  to- 
day caste  names,  the  most  cherished  remnant  of  the  sys- 
tem, have  entirely  disappeared  in  that  communion.  Un- 
fortunately neither  Rome  nor  the  early  Protestant  mis- 
sionaries followed  their  noble  example,  and  recent  workers 
are  suffering  from  their  laxness.  From  the  evangelistic 
point  of  view  the  evils  of  caste  are  chiefly  two :  "  First, 
it  threatens  every  person  inclined  to  become  a  Christian 
with  losses  and  sufferings  of  the  most  grievous  character; 
and,  secondly,  it  segregates  the  new  convert  and  puts 
him  in  a  position  where  he  can  have  little  or  no  influence 
over  his  former  friends.  Even  the  first  of  these  evils 
is  calculated  to  hinder  our  work  very  much;  because  it 
not  only  deters  many  from  the  initial  step  of  making 
honest  inquiry  into  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion, 
but  also  prevents  people  from  confessing  Christ,  unless 
they  have  an  extraordinary  amount  of  moral  and  physical 
courage.  But  the  second  evil  is  still  greater,  because  it 
cuts  off  so  effectually  what  might  be  called  the  natural 
growth  of  the  good  work  of  winning  souls.  Not  only  is 
the  ordeal  of  social,  civil,  and  religious  ostracism,  with 
which  the  profession  of  Christ  is  connected,  a  severe  trial 
to  the  individual  convert  himself,  but  —  what  is  more  to 
be  regretted  —  it  prevents  him  from  securing  the  salvation 
of  his  kindred."^  It  by  no  means  always  follows  that 
converts  are  thrust  out  by  their  families,  yet  it  is  a  very 
common  occurrence. 

3.  How  Met?  —  These  two  and  other  problems  con- 
nected with  caste,  notably  the  practical  refusal  of  the  ma- 
jority of  church  members  to  intermarry  with  Christians 
outside  the  caste,  can  be  legislated  against,  as  recom- 
mended by  the  Madras  Conference;  but  perhaps  the 
constant  reiteration  by  missionaries  of  the  prayer  of 
Jesus  that  all  His  people  might  be  one,  with  comments 
upon  it,  and  the  multiplication  of  object-lessons  of  extra- 

*  Stewart,  Life  and  Work  in  India,  p.  224. 


222  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

caste  marriage  and  of  true  Christian  fellowship  among 
different  castes  will  best  accomplish  the  desired  result. 
Christian  schools  are  also  powerful  agencies  in  weaken- 
ing the  system,  as  is  the  work  of  medical  missions. 

III.    Problems  Connected  With  New  Converts 

1.  Polygamy.  —  One  difficulty  in  the  way  of  receiving 
a  professed  convert,  though  affecting  only  a  small  per- 
centage of  candidates,  is  a  most  perplexing  one;  it  is  that 
of  applicants  who  have  more  than  one  wife.  As  Hindu 
or  Mohammedan  they  have  entered  in  good  faith  into 
marriage  contracts  with  these  wives,  and  if  a  man  puts 
away  all  but  one,  what  provision  shall  be  made  for  the  re- 
jected? and  on  what  principle  shall  he  decide  as  to  the 
one  to  be  retained  ?  While  it  is  a  question  easily  answered 
in  missionary  society  councils  at  home,  it  is  a  more  serious 
problem  at  the  front.  Some  good  missionaries  hold  that 
where  the  husband  is  living  the  Christian  life  in  all  sin- 
cerity, it  is  better  to  receive  into  the  Church  such  a  can- 
didate,—  though  not  eligible  to  any  church  office,  —  than 
to  require  him  to  give  up  all  but  one  wife  and  thus  brand 
with  illegitimacy  his  children  by  them,  as  well  as  occasion 
the  wives  so  put  away  endless  reproach  and  embarrass- 
ments. 

2.  Probation.  —  Nor  is  it  a  simple  question  to  decide 
how  long  a  probation  candidates  for  baptism,  who  do  not 
suffer  from  such  entanglements  as  polygamy,  should 
undergo  before  being  received.  If  there  is  reason  in 
Christian  lands  for  requiring  a  period  of  probation  be- 
fore receiving  persons  to  the  church,  how  much  greater 
reason  is  there  in  case  of  those  who  are  almost  inconceiv- 
ably ignorant  of  Christian  truth,  and  who  are  steeped  in 
heathen  ideas  and  surrounded  by  a  hopeless  environment  ? 
Yet  it  often  happens  that  a  man  hears  the  Gospel  at  a 
festival  far  from  home,  or  else  when  temporarily  residing 


PROBLEMS   AND   OPPONENTS  223 

in  a  distant  village.  If  he  defers  baptism  until  the  proba- 
tionary period  has  passed,  he  may  not  be  able  to  reach  the 
missionary  again ;  or  the  opposition  of  his  family  may  pre- 
vent its  being  administered.  In  any  case  he  loses  the 
stimulus  w^hich  a  pronounced  and  irrevocable  stand  for 
Christ  gives;  since  the  administration  of  this  sacred  rite 
is  the  Rubicon  which,  when  crossed,  commits  him  to  the 
new  religion  and  cuts  off  hope  of  easy  return.  Some  mis- 
sionaries do  not  hesitate  to  baptize  all  those  who  seem 
truly  desirous  of  serving  God  and  are  conscious  of  their 
sinfulness  and  of  saving  grace,  in  the  hope  that  divine 
power  will  keep  them  true  to  their  faith  and  inwardly  in- 
struct them  in  the  things  of  God.  Others  regard  such  a  po- 
sition as  destructive  of  church  order  and  likely  to  result  in 
a  corrupt  Christian  community. 

3.  Private  Baptism.  —  In  the  case  of  some  converts, 
if  baptism  is  to  be  administered  at  all,  it  seems  almost 
necessary  to  hold  the  service  in  secret.  Such  cases  are 
usually  those  of  women,  especially  in  the  better  homes 
whose  inmates  can  not  well  attend  church,  and  others  in 
the  higher  walks  of  life.  In  the  case  of  women,  to  be  bap- 
tized may  and  probably  will  lead  to*their  being  cast  out, 
thus  at  once  depriving  them  of  the  possibility  of  influen- 
cing other  members  of  the  household  and  making  it  neces- 
sary for  the  church  to  make  some  provision  for  such  cast- 
aways. But  if  it  should  be  granted  that  secret  baptism 
is  permissible,  who  is  to  perform  the  rite?  Into  such 
homes  a  male  missionary  could  not  well  go,  and  what 
other  means  of  meeting  the  requirements  of  the  case  is 
there  except  to  authorize  lady  missionaries  to  perform  the 
ceremony?  Other  difficulties  confront  the  men  who  ask 
for  secret  baptism,  the  greatest  being  those  which  beset 
young  students  who  desire  to  enter  the  Christian  life 
through  this  rite.  In  cases  not  a  few  such  persons  have 
been  lost  to  sight  after  their  baptism  became  known,  or 
else  have  been  poisoned,  and  sometimes  —  what  is  worse 


224  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

than  death  —  they  are  drugged  and  led  into  lives  of 
shameless  sensuality,  or  increasing  imbecility.  The  ques- 
tion of  public  baptism  seems  most  vital  v^hen  facing  such 
cases,  and  many  missionaries  perform  the  rite  in  secret. 

Madras  Resolution.  —  The  prevailing  opinion  with  re- 
gard to  women  converts,  however,  is  that  voiced  by  the 
Madras  Conference :  "  We  all  agree  that  in  no  case 
should  wives  and  mothers  be  urged  to  break  family  ties 
in  order  to  publicly  confess  Christ  by  baptism,  but  rather 
that  they  be  encouraged,  even  in  the  face  of  bitter  perse- 
cution, to  witness  for  Christ  in  their  own  homes,  in  order 
that  their  husbands  and  children  may  be  by  their  con- 
sistent lives  won  for  Christ.  At  the  same  time  there  will 
often  be  those  who,  after  earnest  thought  and  prayer, 
will  themselves  be  led  to  the  conviction  that  the  call  has 
come  to  them  from  God  to  confess  their  faith  by  baptism. 
Dare  we,  who  have  ourselves  experienced  the  blessing  that 
has  come  into  our  lives  from  obedience  to  Christ's  com- 
mands, keep  such  back?  .  .  .  We  dare  not  take  such 
a  responsibility,  but  would  encourage  them  rather  to  be 
true  to  the  voice  of  conscience,  however  great  the  cost. 
.  .  .  We  do  not  advise  secret  baptisms  in  zenanas. 
Widows  and  tmmarried  girls  of  legal  age,  as  well  as  mar- 
ried women  who  have  been  cast  out  on  account  of  their 
faith  can  of  course  act  for  themselves;  but,  if  baptized 
contrary  to  the  wishes  of  their  parents  or  guardians,  they 
will  usually  need  protection  and  support."^ 

IV.  Embarrassments  Due  to  Mass  Movements 

I.  In  Tinnevelly.  —  One  of  the  greatest  problems  in 
some  missions  arises  from  success.  While  the  phrase 
"  mass  movements "  may  be  rather  grandiloquent,  it 
describes  conditions  "  where  certain  castes  and  classes 
have,  in  large  bodies,  sought  the  blessings  of  our  faith. 

'^Report    of   the   Afath-as   Conference,   1902,   pp.    99,    100. 


Bareilly  Theological  Seminary — Class  of  1902 


^^^^B^^hHh|^^^^^k|^7«a^ 

jMi^BByj 

SBHy^wT-J^Kr^^^PI^^^^HH 

fe^ 

Bishop  Thoburn  Baptizing  Converts 


PROBLKMS    AND    OPPONENTS  225 

in  Tinnevelly,  for  intance,  the  Shanar  caste  was  early 
influenced  by  Christian  workers;  and,  as  they  are  a  very 
clannish  community,  many  thousands  of  them  have  em- 
braced the  Christian  faith  and  have  been  wonderfully 
transformed  and  elevated  through  contact  with  it.  One 
of  the  most  marvelous  manifestations  of  the  power  of  the 
Gospel  is  presented  to-day  in  that  district  by  this  people, 
who,  under  missionary  influence  and  Christian  training, 
have  risen  from  great  depths  of  ignorance  and  social 
degradation  until  they  stand  among  the  highest  of  that 
land  in  intelligence  and  in  the  spirit  of  progress.  Most  of 
the  Christians  of  Tinnevelly  belong  to  this  once  despised 
class  and  are,  in  many  respects,  full  of  vigor  and  enter- 
prise. 

2.  Teliign  Field.  — "  In  the  famous  Telugu  Baptist 
Mission  we  find  a  similar  movement.  That  American 
Mission  labored  for  twenty-five  years  without  much  en- 
couragement. After  those  j^ears  the  outcastes  of  the  com- 
munity began  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  our  faith 
and  to  apply  for  admission  into  its  congregations.  It 
gathered  them  in  by  thousands,  until  it  has  become  by  far 
the  largest  mission  in  this  country."  Dr.  Jones  must  refer 
here  to  India  as  a  whole,  rather  than  to  the  Madras 
Presidency. 

3.  North  India.  —  "  During  the  last  few  years  a  similar 
movement  has  overtaken  the  American  Methodists  and 
other  missions  in  North  India.  Many  thousands  of  the 
depressed  classes  within  its  area  have  sought  a  refuge 
from  their  ills  and  a  Savior  for  their  souls  in  the  Chris- 
tian fold.  .  .  .  Bishop  Thoburn  says  that  more  than 
100,000  of  this  class  are  now  waiting  to  be  received  into 
their  community,  but  that  their  mission  has  not  the  men 
or  means  to  instruct  them."^ 

4.  Resulting  Problems.  —  Many  problems  arise  in  con- 
nection with  these  mass  movements,  some  of  which  were 

^  Jones,  India's  Problem,  pp.  308,  309. 


226  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

discussed  by  the  Bombay  Conference  of  1893.  Rev.  Mr. 
Uhl's  paper  named  the  following  as  most  common  and 
serious:  (i)  The  unworthy  motives  often  lying  behind 
wholesale  conversions,  so-called.  "  These  reasons  are : 
Famine  and  scarcity,  lack  of  tanks  and  wells  or  deficient 
water-supply,  troubles  arising  from  water-supply,  need  of 
house  sites,  desire  for  fields,  cases  in  the  civil  or  criminal 
courts,  sickness,  misfortunes,  wash  for  schools,  marriage  al- 
liances to  be  made,  vetty  lands  to  be  protected,  property 
to  be  preserved,  hope  of  employment,  better  paying  labor, 
a  desire  to  have  children  supported  in  the  mission  board- 
ing schools,  quarrels  with  the  lower  classes  or  disputes 
with  the  upper  classes,  and  a  large  number  of  cases  with 
some  undefined  expectation  of  better  physical  things." 
When  there  is  such  a  hunger  for  the  loaves  and  fishes, 
how  is  the  missionary  to  be  a  discerner  of  spirits?  (2) 
A  mistaken  view  of  what  Christianity  really  is  may  thus 
be  gained  which  will  follow  such  converts  to  their  grave. 
(3)  The  great  danger  that  cas'te  and  pagan  usages  will  be 
perpetuated;  since  this  difficulty,  serious  as  it  is  when 
converts  come  in  one  by  one,  will  be  increased  with  mul- 
titudes applying  for  admission  to  the  church.  (4)  Wo- 
men, so  stragetic  an  element  in  Indian  society,  are  very 
likely  to  be  overlooked,  when  so  large  a  number  of  men 
are  offering  themselves;  or  if  admitted,  their  instruction 
is  liable  to  be  neglected  in  favor  of  the  men.  (5)  The  in- 
evitable result  of  such  movements  is  to  treat  converts  in 
the  biilk,  instead  of  dealing  with  them  one  by  one,  which 
is  so  essential  to  a  true  conception  of  Christianity  in  India. 
(6)  Ingratitude  is  likely  to  result.  The  advantages  sought 
are  regarded  as  the  proper  reward  of  a  change  of  religion, 
and  hence  they  are  not  received  with  becoming  gratitude; 
or,  if  refused,  the  new  convert  becomes  "  a  great-sized 
monster  of  ingratitudes,"  a  constant  source  of  sorrow  to 
the  missionary.  (7)  Another  evil  results  from  the  sudden 
transition  from  a  position  of  degradation  to  one  in  which 


i^robleMs  And  opponents  22;? 

Christianity  exalts  the  individual.  "  With  new  or  im- 
agined champions,  impudence  to  the  villagers  and  to  their 
superiors  often  possesses  them;  and  they  not  only  omit 
courtesy  but  push  themselves  forward  to  offensiveness 
and  insult,  with  a  whole  train  of  results  follovving  in  quar- 
rels with  villagers,  revenges,  destruction  of  property,  and 
actions  in  criminal  courts/"  To  avoid  such  dangers  as 
these  —  which  have  been  unduly  emphasized  by  Mr.  Uhl  — 
the  serious  responsibility  confronts  the  Church  at  home  of 
providing  a  sufficient  force  to  pVoperly  instruct,  sift,  and 
cultivate  the  multitudes  who  apply  for  Church  member- 
ship. Where  this  is  done  testimony  like  Mr.  Campbell's 
shows  the  value  of  mass  movements :  "  I  have  found  to 
my  surprise  that  better  moral  and  spiritual  results  are  se- 
cured when  people  come  over  in  the  mass  than  when  they 
come  over  as  individuals.  There  is  much  more  stability 
in  a  Christian  community  which  has  arisen  as  a  result  of 
a  mass  movement  than  in  one  which  has  been  formed  by 
the  ingathering  of  isolated  individuals."^ 

V.     Economic     Problems 

I.  Need  of  Employment.  —  Admitting  only  those  ap- 
plicants who  are  truly  v/orthy  does  not  end  the  mission- 
ary's difficulties.  Baptism  throws  many  out  of  employ- 
ment and  home  as  well.  "  Hindus  and  Mohammedans 
prefer  patronizing  merchants,  shop-keepers,  and  manufac- 
turers of  their  own  faith;  and  by  dealing  with  others  in 
somiC  kinds  of  business,  they  would  actually  violate  the 
laws  of  their  respective  sects.  This  leads  to  practical 
boycotting  and  compels  the  Christian  community  to  de- 
pend mostly  upon  itself  for  patronage  in  its  various  de- 
partments of  trade,  as  well  as  service.     Only  as  coolies, 

^  Report  of  the  Third  Decennial  Missionary  Conference,  held  at  Bom- 
hay,  1892-93.  pp.   557-560. 

'Missionary   Review   of   the   World,    October,    1901,  d.    776. 


2^8  India  and  cjikistian  ojm'uutunitv 

farm-hands,  weavers,  and  laborers  of  the  lowest  grades, 
or  as  dealers  in  sueh  detested  articles  as  hides,  are  its 
members  allowed  to  work,  or  to  do  business  with  any  de- 
gree of  freedom.  As  far  as  the  Christian  population  gen- 
erally is  concerned,  more  respectable  avenues  of  profit 
are  closed  to  their  ambition.'" 

2.  Peasant  Scttlcuicnts.  —  Industrial  education  will  un- 
doubtedly aid  in  the  removal  of  these  difficulties,  as  does 
the  rapid  increase  of  the  Christian  community,  the  growth 
of  manufactures,  and  the  introduction  of  new  industries. 
]\Teanwhile,  peasant  settlements  are  strongly  urged  by  the 
ATadras  Conference  as  an  aid  in  overcoming  the  dis- 
abilities above  named.  The  settlements  have  proven  their 
ability  to  better  the  situation,  especially  those  of  the  Irish 
Presbyterians  in  Gujerat  and  Kathiawar;  those  conducted 
l)y  the  Church  IMissionary  Society  at  Clarkabad  and  at 
]\Tontgomery wala ;  and  the  United  Free  Church  settle- 
ments in  Chingleput  District,  Madras.  Aside  from  the 
industrial  value  of  these  peasant  settlements,  they  are  en- 
dorsed from  the  Christian  standpoint.  "  It  is  easily  pos- 
sible to  deal  with  the  people  in  the  mass.  Christian  fami- 
lies are  kept  together  in  one  common  center  imder  pre- 
dominant Christian  influences.  They  come  under  the  di- 
rect care  of  the  pastor,  are  subject  to  Christian  discipline, 
come  regularly  to  worship,  enjoy  Christian  communion 
and  mutual  intercourse,  and  instruction  under  such  cir- 
cumstances can  be  made  more  thorough.'"  Another  ar- 
gument in  their  favor  is  the  fact  that  if  Protestants  make 
no  such  provision  for  their  needy  members,  they  will  go 
over  to  the  Catholics,  who  have  already  begun  to  use  this 
means  of  proselyting. 

Disadvantages.  —  But  if  a  settlement  is  decided  upon, 
here  is  another  temptation  to  secularize  the  missionary  en- 
terprise.    Moreover,  it  fosters  the  dependent  spirit,  which 

*  Stewart,  Life  and   Work   in  India,   p.    326. 

*  Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  1902,  p.   146. 


PROBLEMS   AND   OPPONENTS  229 

is  a  marked  defect  of  the  native  character;  it  occasions 
friction  or  enmity  between  missionaries  and  their  con- 
verts, since  even  Christians  are  true  to  the  common 
maxim,  "  Never  pay  unless  you  are  compelled,"  and  hence 
they  must  be  almost  forcibly  dealt  with  by  those  in  charge ; 
it  has  in  many  cases  attracted  worthless  characters  by  the 
hope  of  worldly  advantage;  and  it  hinders  the  spread  of 
the  Gospel  by  segregating  the  leaven  from  the  masses  so 
greatly  needing  it.  The  "  compound  system  "  is  similar 
to  the  settlement  scheme  and  open  to  nearly  the  same  ob- 
jections. 

3.  Credit  Associations.  —  To  aid  struggling  Christians 
toward  independence  the  Madras  Conference  also  urged 
the  establishment  of  mission  banks  of  a  cooperative  char- 
acter, holding  that  they  would  add  greatly  to  the  moral 
and  social  advancement  of  their  people  and  at  the  same 
time  furnish  object-lessons  useful  to  the  Government  in 
furthering  its  Cooperative  Credit  Association  scheme. 
If  established  by  a  given  mission,  such  a  bank  would  need 
to  pass  through  the  experimental  stage,  since  the  Raiff- 
eisen  and  Schultze-Delitsch  Banks  of  Europe,  w^hich 
furnish  the  models,  are  conducted  under  widely  different 
conditions.  Moreover,  for  some  time  to  come  they  would 
serve  the  purpose  of  a  training  school  in  finance  to  the 
native  leaders,  in  whose  hands  they  must  largely  be,  rather 
than  furnish  a  present  solution  of  pressing  financial  need. 

VI.    The  Question  of  a  Self-supporting  Church 

I.  Difficulties.  —  Closely  akin  to  the  questions  just 
named  are  similar  ones  affecting  the  local  church.  When 
the  individual  members  can  scarcely  provide  for  their 
own  family  needs,  how  can  they  be  expected  to  sustain  the 
activities  of  their  church?  To  urge  the  example  of  the 
Karens,  who,  under  the  leadership  of  Abbott  and  others 
of  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  set  so  mag- 


230  INDIA   AND   driRISTlAN   OPPOktUNlTV 

nificent  an  example  of  financial  independence  and  aggres- 
sive church  life,  is  to  suggest  to  objectors  the  absence  of 
caste  and  other  difficulties  which  so  complicate  matters 
in  India  proper.  Moreover,  the  fertility  of  Burma,  the 
favoring  climate,  and  the  leadership  of  unusual  men  are 
further  answers  in  the  view  of  some.  The  fact  that  more 
than  one-eighth  of  the  organized  congregations  of  India, 
including  Burma,  were  reported  as  self-supporting  at 
the  close  of  1900^  shows  the  possibility  of  self-support, 
notwithstanding  the  difficulties. 

2.  Methods.  —  The  methods  which  are  most  commended 
are  as  follows :  "  In  order  to  secure  the  hearty  and  liberal 
gifts  of  the  people,  not  only  must  the  Christian  duty, 
privilege,  and  blessing  of  giving  be  laid  continually  be- 
fore them,  but  such  methods  of  giving  as  accord  with  the 
genius  of  the  people  should  be  resorted  to.  In  this  con- 
nection, offerings  on  special  festive  occasions,  offerings 
for  special  mercies  received  or  dangers  averted,  —  for  ex- 
ample, in  times  of  sickness,  etc.,  —  first  fruits,  collections 
of  grain  and  the  like,  should  be  encouraged,  in  addition  to 
periodical  contributions,  collections,  etc.  Harvest  fes- 
tivals, coinciding  as  they  do  with  the  customs  of  the 
country,  have  also  proved  themselves  an  important  factor 
in  inciting  the  people  to  spontaneous  and  cheerful  giving, 
and  are  heartily  recommended  by  the  Conference."" 

Harvest  Festival.  —  The  harvest  festival,  so  especially 
emphasized,  deserves  fuller  mention,  since  it  accomplishes 
far  more  than  an  increase  in  financial  gifts.  Rev.  E.  A. 
Douglas,  who  calls  the  gathering  the  modern  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  thus  describes  one  in  his  field :  "  A  peep  into 
that  great  temporary  structure  made  of  boughs  of  trees, 
hung  with  flags  made  by  the  school  children,  and  deco- 
rated with  fruits  and  grains  gathered  in  by  the  sons  jj 

*  Protestant  Missions  in  India,  Burma,  and  Ceylon,  Sta:ii:Uc.  '.  L^..j, 
1^00,  p.  63. 

"Hcport  oi  ihe  Madra::  Cji-Utina,  iQos,  pp,  39,  ^c. 


PROBLEMS   AND  OPPONENTS  S^I 

the  soil  who  have  themselves  been  brought  into  Christ'3 
garner-church,  brought  vividly  before  one's  mind  the  great 
truth  of  the  oneness  of  the  Church  and  the  communion  of 
saints.  The  European  missionaries  and  the  ten  North 
Tinnevelly  pastors,  together  v^ith  the  singing  boys  and 
girls,  sitting  on  either  side,  filled  the  platform.  Ranging 
down  the  side  of  the  tent  were  the  inspecting  school- 
masters, lay  members  of  council,  leading  members  of  con- 
gregations, and  the  members  of  the  Itinerating  Band 
headed  by  the  *  Leader  of  Song.*  In  the  body  of  the  tent 
sat  the  members  of  congregations  and  their  catechists  and 
schoolmasters,  —  on  one  side  the  men,  on  the  other  the 
women.  They  had  come  up  from  all  parts  of  North  Tin- 
nevelly, for  the  most  part  on  foot,  some  in  bandies  —  com- 
ing not  empty  but  with  holy  offerings.  .  .  .  After  the 
sermon  was  over  the  offerings  were  brought.  First  the 
money  was  gathered  in  by  the  pastors  —  some  Rupees  160. 
Then  the  women's  needle  work  was  brought  up  on  trays,  — 
such  a  collection !  —  mufflers,  caps,  tablecloths,  frocks, 
socks,  a  baby's  hood,  bead  penholders,  artificial  flowers, 
a  bundle  of  things  from  the  Sachiapuram  Girls'  Boarding 
School,  a  cap  made  by  the  Brahman  wife  of  the  sub- 
registrar  of  Sivakasi,  and  many  other  things.  These  were 
afterwards  sold  by  auction  and  realized  about  Rupees  25. 
Then  amidst  the  vigorous  singing  of  the  Tamil  rendering 
of  *  Bringing  in  the  Sheaves,'  "  Where  are  the  Reapers,' 
and  such  like  hymns,  the  grain  offerings  were  brought  up 
by  the  people  themselves  and  the  sacks  piled  in  front  of 
the  platform.  Many  fowls,  too,  were  brought,  which  after 
a  good  deal  of  cackling  and  clucking,  were  set  to  lie 
helplessly,  with  their  legs  tied,  on  the  platform.  .  .  . 
Limes,  tobacco  leaves,  a  concertina,  a  good  brass  lamp,  a 
stone  garden-seat,  were  amongst  the  offerings  brought; 
all  these  were  arranged  on  the  platform  and  together 
with  the  sacks  of  grain  in  front  gave  it  the  appearance  of 
a  well-stocked  bazaar.     The    collection    of    things    was 


2^2  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORxaNITY 

amusing,  but  the  people  all  rejoiced  for  a  better  reason  — 
they  all  gave  willingly;  and  although  last  year  had  been 
a  time  of  great  scarcity,  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  mon- 
soon, yet  the  number  of  offerings  was  not  decreased,  and 
the  amount  realized  —  some  Rupees  250  —  was  greater 
than  last  year."^  The  deepest  source  of  joy  at  this  har- 
vest festival  was  the  baptism  of  many  converts  by  their 
several  pastors,  which  made  the  occasion  a  double  harvest 
home. 

A  Native  Suggestion.  —  A  prominent  native  Christian 
makes  this  suggestion  as  a  possible  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem of  self-support  in  village  churches.  "  Take  the  case  of 
an  ordinary  village  church  with  perhaps  fifty  members, 
men  and  women.  In  such  a  village  there  would  probably 
be  a  teacher  and  a  preacher.  The  church  would  be  ex- 
pected under  the  present  condition  of  things  to  pay  a  part 
of  the  salary  of  an  itinerant  pastor,  who  has  charge  of 
two  or  more  churches.  The  teacher  and  the  preacher 
would  be  paid  by  the  mission.  Suppose  a  field  covering 
five  acres  of  land,  watered  by  the  supply  from  a  well,  was 
purchased  in  the  same  way  as  a  school-house  or  a 
preacher's  quarters  are  built.  Suppose  each  member  of 
the  church  was  to  take  into  the  field  a  certain  number  of 
baskets  of  manure  from  his  yard  and  to  give  a  fixed  num- 
ber of  days'  labor  to  the  cultivation  of  the  field.  Those 
who  have  bullocks  and  plows  would  plow  part  of  the 
field  or  draw  water  from  the  well.  If  the  village  was  at 
some  distance  from  a  large  town,  sugar-cane  might  be 
grown  and  jaughery  sold  in  the  town.  If  the  village  was 
near  a  large  town,  vegetables  and  fruits  of  different  kinds 
could  be  grown  and  sold.  A  field  of  the  size  mentioned 
above,  if  properly  cultivated,  has  been  found  on  experiment 
to  yield  an  income  of  from  Rupees  600  to  Rupees  700  a 
year.  This  sum  can  pay  the  salaries  of  all  the  agents  in 
the  place.  The  work  in  the  field  should  be  arranged  for 
^Church  Missionary  Gleaner,  October,  1903,  p.  150. 


PROBLEMS   AND   OPPONENTS  2^^ 

and  regulated  by  a  small  committee  of  the  church.  AH 
the  work,  or  as  much  as  is  possible,  should  be  voluntary 
and  unpaid.  It  would  interest  the  Christians  in  the  place 
in  aggressive  work,  and  in  a  short  time  enable  them  to  do 
for  other  villages  what  the  mission  has  done  for  them. 
This  experiment  is  being  tried  in  some  places  in  the 
country.  In  two  places  fields  have  been  hired,  because 
the  churches  had  no  money  to  buy  them.  In  another  place 
a  church  is  considering  the  idea  of  planting  a  mango 
grove.  Such  a  project  may  not  be  paying  for  some  years, 
but  is  likely  afterwards  to  yield  handsomely  without  much 
labor."  ^ 

VII.    Securing  Self-government 

1.  Desirability  and  Possibility.  —  A  strenuous  effort 
toward  self-support  is  not  likely  to  be  made  unless  a 
church  is  assured  of  self-government,  to  the  extent,  at 
least,  that  the  usages  of  the  denomination  permit.  It  is 
generally  conceded  in  India  that  a  reasonable  share  in  the 
government  of  the  church  should  be  granted  its  members, 
in  order  to  train  them  in  the  art  of  self-government  and 
to  awaken  in  them  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  church's 
affairs.  "  It  is  a  significant  fact  in  India  to-day,  that  the 
Methodist  missions,  by  their  compact  organization,  are 
able  to,  or  at  any  rate  do,  confer  more  ecclesiastical 
and  administrative  power  upon  the  native  Church  than 
any  other  mission;  while  Congregational  missions,  the 
least  organized,  are  the  most  backward  in  this  matter."" 

2.  Pastor's  Salary.  —  One  aid  toward  uniting  the  pastor 
of  a  native  church  more  closely  to  his  people  and  thus  of 
increasing  their  sense  of  independence,  is  that  suggested 
by  the  Madras  Conference.    If  he  is  paid  by  the  mission- 

^  Modak,  Directory  of  Protestant  Indian  Christians,  vol.  ii.,  Appendix, 
p,  viii. 

*  Jones,   India's  Problem^  p.    260, 


234  INDIA  AND  ClIRiSTlAN   Ol'PORTUNlTY 

aries,  he  is  regarded  as  one  of  ihe  foreign  force  instead 
of  being  an  integral  part  of  the  local  church,  and  thus  the 
true  pastor  is  lost  in  the  perfunctory  office  of  superin- 
tendent. It  was  accordingly  urged  that  he  be  paid  through 
some  office-bearer  in  the  church  other  than  a  representa- 
tive of  the  foreign  society. 

3.  Training  to  Govern.  —  Hitherto  the  foreign  mission- 
ary has  had  much  to  do  with  the  governing  of  the  native 
church.  There  is  a  growing  conviction  that  the  desired 
object  of  promoting  self-government  can  be  best  attained 
through  making  the  missionary  a  trainer  of  those  who  are 
to  govern,  instead  of  governing  it  directly.  In  view  of 
national  characteristics  inclining  the  members  toward  be- 
ing led  by  those  in  religious  authority,  and  because  of  the 
grade  of  society  from  which  the  body  of  the  church  comes, 
it  requires  far  more  self-effacement  for  the  missionaries 
to  do  this  and  makes  greater  demands  upon  their  time 
and  patience  than  some  are  likely  to  possess.  The  Con- 
ference urged  that  in  the  churches  men  of  special  ability  be 
sought  out  and  charged  with  financial  and  other  official 
burdens  and  trained  under  the  foreigner's  eye.  Failure 
hitherto  on  the  part  of  native  church  officials  was  felt  to 
be  largely  due  to  lack  of  training. 

4.  Panchayets.  —  The  idea  which  Bishop  Caldwell  did 
so  much  to  make  effective  in  his  own  mission,  namely, 
the  use  of  the  native  institution  of  the  panchayet,  or 
council  of  five  householders,  in  the  settlement  of  many 
matters  of  church  discipline,  has  received  the  endorsement 
of  the  Madras  Conference.  If  these  native  leaders  were 
recognized  as  possessing  the  requisite  authority,  it  would 
increase  the  sense  of  self-government  and  enlarge  the 
native  responsibility  in  regard  to  right  living.  Some  of 
the  other  ideas  of  the  Society  which  the  Bishop  repre- 
sented, such  as  the  forming  of  converts  into  Christian 
Companies  with  a  Christian  headman  over  each,  the  head- 
men meeting  together  to  receive  the  missionary's  counsel 


PROBLEMS    AND    OPPONENTS  235 

and  encouragement,  have  not  only  proven  helpful  as  train- 
ing in  self-government  in  that  Church,  but  in  the  Method- 
ist bodies  of  the  Empire  also. 

VIIL    Self-extension  of  the  Native  Church 

1.  General  Organisations.  —  Difficult  as  is  the  task  of 
developing  self-government  in  the  native  Church,  it  is 
equally  hard  to  create  an  aggressive,  self-propagating 
spirit  in  its  rank  and  file.  The  organization  of  the  Volun- 
teer Movement  for  Home  Missions,  effected  in  1896,  has 
done  a  little  to  stimulate  students  in  this  direction;  but  a 
number  of  home  missionary  societies  established  by 
various  missions  have  done  far  more  for  the  Church  at 
large.  Their  object  has  been  ideally,  if  not  actually,  a 
fivefold  one:  (i)  To  quicken  the  interest  of  Christians 
in  work  outside  their  immediate  neighborhood;  (2)  to 
utilize  or  secure  gifts  of  money  and  men  not  available  to 
the  foreign  societies;  (3)  to  provide  the  ministers  and  lay- 
men of  these  churches  with  ftiller  opportunities  for  the 
exercise  of  their  administrative  gifts;  (4)  to  bring  home 
to  the  churches  in  a  very  definite  manner  their  duty  in 
this  connection;  (5)  and  to  develop  initiative  in  the  na- 
tive church  leaders,  thus  securing  new  methods  indigenous 
to  the  country  and  likely  to  aid  the  foreign  force. 

2.  Missionary  Bands.  —  The  nearer  field  is  to  be  evan- 
gelized through  the  formation  of  missionary  bands, 
described  by  the  recent  Conference  in  one  of  its  resolu- 
tions and  in  successful  operation  in  many  missions.  One 
such  band  was  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter.  These 
entirely  voluntary  efforts  exerted  in  their  own  neighbor- 
hood increase  interest  in  home  evangelization  and  train 
the  participants  for  permanent  work  of  that  sort,  in  the 
employ  of  the  Church.  Moreover,  it  stimulates  others  in 
good  positions  to  devote  part  of  their  leisure,  especially 
during  vacations,  to  voluntary  preaching. 


236  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OITORTUNITY 


IX.     Educational    Problems 

1.  Government  Attitude.  —  Though  education  is  so  un- 
questionably important  a  part  of  the  missionary  program, 
it  has  its  difficulties.  "  There  is  a  serious  conflict  ahead 
in  the  no  distant  future,"  writes  Dr.  Jones.  "  And  this  is 
in  part  owing  to  the  attitude  of  the  government  Educa- 
tional Department  and  of  the  local  governing  bodies 
towards  mission  institutions.  There  is  no  concealing  the 
fact  that  most  of  the  English  officials  of  the  Educational 
Department  in  India  deem  mission  schools  the  most  se- 
rious rivals  to,  and  regard  missionary  educators  as  quasi 
enemies  of,  their  departmental  schools.  These  men  have 
recently  assumed,  and  are  increasingly  assuming,  an  at- 
titude of  jealousy  if  not  of  hostility,  to  mission  institu- 
tions, chiefly  because  of  their  strength  and  excellence  as 
rival  schools,  and  partly  because  of  the  Bible  training 
which  is  imparted  to  all  the  students  of  these  schools,  — 
a  training  with  which  those  officials  have  no  sympathy, 
and  which  they  are  wont  to  regard  as  an  educational  im- 
pertinence. 

2.  Native  Opposition  —  *' Another  fact  of  equal  signifi- 
cance is  the  attitude  of  District  Boards  and  Municipal 
Commissioners  towards  the  schools  of  mission  bodies. 
Nearly  all  the  members  of  local  boards  are  native  gentle- 
men. They  see  the  large  influence  of  mission  schools, 
scattered  as  they  are  through  their  districts  and  towns,  and 
they  regard  them  as  Christian  propaganda  and  as  evangel- 
izing agencies;  and  it  is  but  natural  that,  under  the  impulse 
of  their  new  nationalism  and  of  their  interest  in  a  Neo- 
Hinduism,  they  should  be  jealous  of  mission  schools,  which 
are  the  rivals  of  their  own  indigenous  and  growing  insti- 
tutions. And  as  they  have  the  power  of  the  purse  and 
make  and  withhold  grants  to  different  schools  at  their 
pleasure,  and  as  all  the  subordinate  officers  of  the  Edu* 


PROBLEMS   AND   OPPONENTS  237 

cational  Department  arc  natives  and  are  not  in  full  sym- 
pathy with  mission  schools,  it  can  be  easily  seen  how  our 
schools  are  doomed  to  suffer  through  an  ever  increasing 
government  aid  toward  their  support.'" 

3.  Another  Estimate.  —  The  view  of  the  attitude  of 
government  officials,  native  and  foreign,  just  quoted,  ex- 
presses the  opinion  of  not  a  few  missionaries.  The  per- 
sonal equation,  of  both  the  missionary  and  the  official, 
however,  calls  for  another  view  of  the  Government's 
attitude  toward  education.  A  missionary  with  wide  expe- 
rience thus  writes :  "  While  there  are  English  inspectors 
who  dislike  mission  institutions,  I  believe  they  are  the 
exception.  We  have  reason  for  profound  gratitude  that 
the  English  officials  are,  as  a  rule,  so  friendly  to  us. 
During  my  more  than  twenty  years  in  India,  the  English 
educational  officers  not  only,  but  gentlemen  of  the  Revenue 
Department  also,  rendered  me  most  substantial  help,  as 
they  have  other  members  of  our  Mission.  In  the  matter 
of  native  officials,  I  may  say  that  personally  I  have  re- 
ceived more  help  from  native  school  inspectors  than  from 
Europeans.  My  successor  writes  me  that  never  have  the 
grants  from  Government  been  so  liberal  as  during  the  last 
year,  and  all  of  his  schools  are  under  native  inspection."* 

4.  Suitable  Teachers.  —  Another  sort  of  difficulty 
arises  from  the  scarcity  of  suitable  Christian  teachers  for 
mission  schools.  More  than  one-third  of  the  teachers  in 
male  schools  are  not  Christians,  and  in  consequence  the 
religious  value  of  the  education  imparted  is  lessened.  So 
great  is  the  demand  for  those  who  are  Christians  that  the 
salary  given  is  greater  than  that  of  Hindu  schoolmasters, 
and  this  generates  friction  and  financial  questions.  Hap- 
pily it  has  resulted  in  an  increasing  patronage  of  normal 
and  training  schools,  but  the  tendencies  of  the  government 
training  schools  are  unfavorable   for  the  Christian  life, 

*  Jones,  India's  Problem,  pp.  278,  279. 
» Quoted  f I  f>pi  p^^'fltc  porr€spon4en??? 


238  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

This  caused  the  recent  conference  at  Madras  to  plead  for 
more  Christian  training  institutions  and  for  the  provision 
of  special  Bible  normal  courses  and  Christian  hostels  in 
connection  with  government  institutions.  It  also  com- 
mended those  hostels  under  the  care  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association. 

X.    Ferment  of  Religious  Ideas 

I.  Arya  Samaj.  —  The  constantly  increasing  ferment  in 
the  religious  life  and  thought  of  native  India  is  especially 
manifest  in  the  Arya  Samaj,  the  most  hostile  to  Christian- 
ity of  the  samajes.  The  seriousness  of  this  opposition 
may  be  seen  from  the  ideals  and  methods  of  its  founder, 
the  Swami  Dayanand  Sarasvati.  "  He  was  a  dreamer  of 
splendid  dreams,"  writes  Rev.  Dr.  Griswold.  "  He  had  a 
vision  of  India  purged  of  her  superstitions,  filled  with  the 
fruits  of  science,  worshipping  one  God,  fitted  for  self- 
rule,  having  a  place  in  the  sisterhood  of  nations,  and  re- 
stored to  her  ancient  glory.  All  this  was  to  be  accom- 
plished by  throwing  overboard  the  accumulated  supersti- 
tions of  the  centuries  and  returning  to  the  pure  and 
inspired  teachings  of  the  Vedas.  Thus  the  founder  of  the 
Arya  Samaj  was  a  kind  of  Indian  Elijah  or  John  the 
Baptist,  who  felt  himself  called  to  turn  the  hearts  of  the 
degenerate  children  of  modern  India  to  their  fathers  of 
the  glorious  Vedic  Age,  to  reconcile  the  present  with  the 
past.  The  character  of  his  mission  helps  to  account  for 
the  violence  of  his  methods  of  controversy.  Elijah  was  not 
especially  gentle  in  his  dealings  with  the  prophets  of 
Baal,  nor  was  Luther  very  tender  toward  the  Roman 
Church.  .  .  .  This  illustrates  exactly  Swami  Daya- 
nand's  attitude  toward  the  degenerate  Brahmanical  Church 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  foreign  faiths,  Christianity  and 
Islam,  on  the  other.  In  his  opinion,  the  one  needed 
to    be    purged    and    pruned;    the    others    to    be    extir- 


PROBLEMS  AND  OPPONENTS  239 

pated.  The  sections  in  the  Satyarth  Prakash  which 
deal  with  the  criticism  of  Islam  and  Christianity  are  evi- 
dently intended  to  be  the  literature  of  such  extirpation,  i.  e., 
to  be  the  means  of  rooting  out  all  such  foreign  supersti- 
tions from  the  hearts  of  the  sons  of  Aryavarta.  For  ex- 
treme unfairness,  for  inability  to  state  the  position  of 
opponents  without  caricature,  and  for  general  crudeness, 
these  sections  can  hardly  be  matched  in  the  whole  litera- 
ture of  religious  controversy."^  When  it  is  remembered 
that  the  more  than  400  students  in  their  college  at  Lahore 
are  imbued  with  his  spirit  and  doctrines  and  that  there 
are  in  this  Samaj  a  large  proportion  of  highly  educated 
leaders,  its  formidable  character  may  be  seen. 

2.  The  New  Islam.  —  The  educational  ambitions  of  the 
New  Islam  have  already  been  referred  to.  This  party, 
known  as  Naturi  or  Rationalists,  has  gone  so  far  in  the 
direction  of  making  Mohammedanism  Hke  the  higher  re- 
ligions of  the  world,  that  they  have  aroused  opposition. 
A  "  Society  for  the  Defence  of  Islam  "  has  become  quite 
prominent  in  Northwest  India.  "  The  methods  of  defence 
adopted  by  this  great  organization  have  been,  in  brief," 
writes  Dr.  Wherry,  "  the  establishment  of  Mohammedan 
vernacular  and  Anglo-vernacular  schools  for  the  education 
of  Muslim  youth,  the  publication  of  a  literature,  —  books, 
tracts,  and  newspapers,  —  for  the  refutation  of  anti- 
Muslim  publications,  as  well  as  for  the  commendation  and 
propagation  of  the  religion  of  Islam.  In  addition  to  this 
a  Muslim  propaganda  has  been  organized,  especially  to 
withstand  and  hinder  the  work  of  missions.  Even  zenana 
teachers  are  supported,  whose  first  duty  is  to  break  up, 
if  possible,  the  missionary  zenana  and  girls'  schools.  Pres- 
sure is  brought  to  bear  upon  Muslim  parents  and  families 
to  exclude  the  Christian  ladies  and  workers.  Moreover, 
preachers  are  supported  and  sent  here  and  there  to  preach 
against  the  Christian   religion,   and  to  use  every  effort 

*  Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  1902,  p.  3^0. 


240  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

to  bring  back  to  the  Muslim  fold  any  who  have  been  con- 
verted to  Christianity.  Christian  perverts  are  sent  out  as 
the  chosen  agents  of  this  propaganda."^  Other  movements 
among  Mohammedans,  such  as  that  of  Mirza  Ghulam 
Ahmad,  "  the  Messiah  of  the  Twentieth  Century,"  and 
the  efforts  of  Mr.  White  and  others  of  "the  Nazarene 
New  Sect,"  a  mixture  of  Christianity  and  Mohammedan- 
ism, are  also  inimical  to  missions. 

3.  Neo-Hinduism.  —  Of  the  past  decade.  Rev.  T.  E. 
Slater  said,  at  the  Madras  Conference :  "  India  has  been 
stirred  as  she  never  was  before.  For  good  or  for  evil, 
many  of  the  things  that  are  old  are  passing  away;  much 
that  is  new  to  Indian  feeling  and  life  is  pressing  itself 
forward.  Instead  of  the  studied  silence  of  the  past,  there 
is  a  constant  discussion  of  religious  themes  and  a  reaching 
out  after  something  higher  and  more  reasonable.  A  char- 
acteristic creed,  revealing  alike  the  conservatism  and  the 
despair  of  Hindu  religious  thought,  was  presented  at  the 
beginning  of  the  decade  in  a  new  Hindu  monthly  review, 
published  in  Calcutta.  ...  *  To  the  Hindu  there  is  no 
false  religion,  but  every  form  of  worship  earnestly  be- 
lieved in  is  absolutely  true  for  the  believer  and  yields  just 
the  results  needed  for  his  higher  evolution.  What  is  more, 
Hindus  believe  that  the  religion  and  religious  associations 
m  which  a  man  is  born  and  bred  are  a  much  better  means 
for  the  improvement  of  his  mind  and  soul  than  a  new  one, 
being  in  the  direct  line  of  his  natural  evolution.'  "^ 

Developments.  —  As  a  result  of  Hinduism's  unrest  and 
the  efforts  of  individuals  from  the  West,  like  Annie 
Besant,  Madame  Blavatsky  and  Miss  Noble,  as  well  as 
because  of  the  leadership  of  many  in  the  various  samajes, 
every  variety  of  alloy  of  Hinduism  and  Christianity  has 
been  thrust  upon  the  Indian  public;  and  these  have  been 
harmful  to  true  religion  in  proportion  as  the  counterfeit 

^Ri'port  of  the  Madm  Conferences  1902,  p,  ^43^ 
» Ibid.,  p.  343. 


proble:ms  and  orpoxENis  241 

is  like  the  Christian  original,  from  which  it  gains  its 
strongest  features  and  beliefs.  Moreover,  the  modernized 
Hinduism  makes  use  of  the  same  agencies  which  Chris- 
tianity has  found  so  effective.  It  employs  preaching,  the 
press,  and  education,  both  lower  and  higher;  it  is  sclf- 
supporting  and  self-propagating,  enlisting  as  it  does  native 
talent  from  the  higher  and  well-to-do  classes.  Its  use  of 
the  press  is  especially  to  be  noted.  Its  writers  in  general 
are  men  of  high  literary  ability  and  education.  Thus  "  a 
Madras  magazine,  called  The  Arya,  a  new  champion  of 
Hinduism,  was  started  in  1901,  which  has  elected  to  give 
up  the  defensive  and  to  attack  Christianity  on  its  own 
ground,  the  editor  beginning  by  assailing  the  central  fact 
of  the  New  Testament,  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  The 
skeptical  arguments  used  are  not  original,  nor  are  they 
borrowed  as  they  were  some  time  ago  from  Ingersoll  and 
Bradlaugh,  but  are  inspired  by  the  higher  criticism  of  the 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica.  This  is  very  suggestive  and 
shows  the  range  of  reading  of  the  educated  and  the  uses 
made  of  it."^ 

4.  Root  difficulties.  —  The  reason  why  these  religious 
movements  are  so  serious  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the 
missionary  enterprise  is  that  they  are  indigenous  for  the 
most  part  and  are  espoused  by  the  strong  leaders  of  native 
life  and  thought.  They  thus  start  with  a  presumption  in 
their  favor;  and  to  this  they  add  enough  of  Christianity 
to  partly  satisfy  the  hungry  soul,  while  at  the  same  time 
they  retain  enough  of  the  old  leaven  to  make  it  easy  for  the 
Hindu  or  Mohammedan  to  accept  them  without  fear  of 
social  ostracism  or  rupture  of  relations  with  family  and 
caste.  The  imitation  of  Christian  methods  still  further 
satisfies  those  who  have  been  attracted  to  Christianity  by 
its  beneficent  fruits  and  who  feel  a  desire  for  such  aids. 
Thus,  in  connection  with  the  Church  Missionary  Society's 
College  at  Cottayam,  "  one  of  the  iNlalayalam  munshis  man- 
*  K«por1  of  the  Matfrai  Conference,  .901,  p,  308, 


242  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

aged  the  Hindu  hostel,  which  had  about  thirty  members 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  In  imitation  of  the  Chris- 
tians, they  held  a  devotional  service  every  Sunday  evening 
under  the  leadership  of  a  high-caste  Brahman  boy.  A 
portion  of  the  Bhagavad  Gita  was  read  and  discussed  and 
various  prayers  recited.  A  Students'  Young  Men's  Hindu 
Association,  too,  was  organized  in  rivalry  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association."^  While  all  these  recent 
movements  are  occasions  for  hopefulness,  they  are  like- 
wise sources  of  deep  solicitude,  as  well  as  of  occasional 
defections  to  the  new  views  of  old  faiths. 

XI.   The  Government's  Attitude 

1.  Obstacles.  —  The  pledged  neutrality  of  the  Govern- 
ment toward  all  religions  occasions  further  anxiety  to  the 
missionary  body.  In  the  main  it  is  observed,  but  there 
is  some  reason  for  the  remark  that  the  only  religion  espe- 
cially liable  to  suffer  by  this  attitude  is  Christianity. 
The  Government's  position  of  neutrality,  moreover,  is 
"  misunderstood  by  many  natives  and  attributed  more  to  a 
lack  of  faith  in  Christianity  than  to  the  principle  of  even- 
handed  justice;  while  the  gift  in  various  ways  of  vastly 
more  money,  or  its  equivalent,  for  the  support  of  native 
faiths  than  is  given  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel,  pro- 
duces the  same,  if  not  a  worse  effect."" 

Wicked  Deeds  and  Officials.  — Then,  too,  the  attitude 
of  the  Government  toward  the  regulation  of  vice,  especially 
in  the  government  camps,  its  support  of  the  opium  traffic, 
and  the  ungodly  character  of  some  of  its  representatives, 
who  are  supposed  to  be  Christians  by  the  populace,  bring 
reproach  upon  the  Christian  name. 

2.  The  Other  Side.  —  Yet  this  is  but  one  aspect  of  the 
governmental  attitude  toward  missions,  which  in  general 

1  Proceedings  of  the  Cluirch  Missionary  Society,  ipo2-IQ03,  p.  298. 

=  Stewart,  Life  am    Work  in  India,  p.   38.  ^ 


PROBLEMS   AND   OPPONENTS  ^43 

has  been  helpful;  and  if  there  are  those  in  the  official 
ranks  who  are  hostile  to  missions,  there  are  many  others 
like  the  splendid  Irishman,  Lord  John  Lawrence,  "  the 
savior  of  India,"  whose  lives  accord  with  his  noble  State- 
paper,  issued  after  the  Mutiny,  an  extract  from  which  we 
quote :  "  All  measures  which  are  really  and  truly  Christian 
can  be  carried  out  in  India,  not  only  without  danger  to 
British  rule,  but  on  the  contrary  with  every  advantage  to 
its  stability.  Christian  things  done  in  a  Christian  way 
will  never  alienate  the  heathen.  About  such  things  there 
are  qualities  which  do  not  provoke,  nor  excite  distrust,  nor 
harden  to  resistance.  It  is  when  unchristian  things  are 
done  in  the  name  of  Christianity,  or  when  Christian  things 
are  done  in  an  unchristian  way,  that  mischief  and  danger 
are  occasioned."^  A  missionary  of  more  than  twenty  years* 
experience  in  South  India,  Rev.  J.  H.  Wyckoff,  D.  D., 
voices  the  opinion  of  many  others  in  the  following  state- 
ment concerning  British  officials :  "  I  believe  the  general 
influence  of  the  Government  is  on  the  side  of  righteousness. 
My  experience  among  the  natives  of  all  classes  leads  me 
to  affirm  that  the  rulers  of  India  stand  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people,  as  the  embodiment  of  integrity  and  justice.  The 
higher  moral  standard  that  has  been  adopted  by  many 
Hindus,  their  greater  regard  for  the  truth,  the  increased 
spirit  of  manliness  and  self-respect,  their  kindlier  treat- 
ment of  woman,  are  not  necessarily  the  result  of  mission 
work,  but  are  largely  due  to  the  influence,  unconscious 
though  it  may  be,  of  the  Englishman  in  India,  in  whom 
these  characteristics  are  peculiarly  exhibited."  If  any 
further  proof  of  the  helpfulness  of  British  officials  to  the 
missionary  cause  were  desired,  one  need  only  quote  the. 
names  and  noble  deeds  oi  such  mes  as  Sir  William  Muir, 
Sir  Charles  Aitchison,  Sir  Richard  Temple,  General  Havg« , 
lock,  and  a  lost  of  other  officials  friendly  to  missions. 

^  Clark,  The   ^nniab,  4K^  'Sinib  Missions  of,  j/if  CMrch  Misp.opo.v:: 
Society,  p.  it/,         "       ~ 


244  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORT UNITY 


XII.    The  Missionaries  Themselves 

I.  Relations  to  Occidentals.  —  Having  considered  the 
difficulties  arising  from  sources  mainly  outside  themselves, 
the  last  look  must  be  introspective.  Superficial  travelers, 
whose  knowledge  of  missions  is  gained  from  a  flying  tour 
through  India  and  contact  with  Europeans  in  hotels  in  its 
great  cities,  would  hold  that  the  most  serious  obstacles 
to  missions  lie  in  the  missionaries  and  in  their  relations  to 
Europeans  and  natives.  Most  of  the  supposed  facts  under- 
lying this  shallow  judgment  are  gained  from  a  slight 
knowledge  of  the  missionaries.  One  of  the  latter  writes : 
"  A  group  of  missionaries  generally  presents  a  motley, 
and,  to  an  unfamiliar  eye,  a  somewhat  amusing  aspect. 
Clothing  of  different  eras,  dating  from  the  time  when  their 
respective  wearers  left  home,  mingled  with  local  fashions 
or  individual  whims,  combine  to  give  them  a  nondescript 
appearance.  This  is  one  reason  why  old  missionaries 
shrink  from  durbars,  levees,  dinners,  and  calls  on  the 
more  fashionable  English,  and  why  they  are  disposed  to 
push  out  newcomers  as  their  representatives,  when  duty 
requires  some  attention  to  the  demands  of  society."^  The 
inexperience  and  freshness  of  such  representatives,  as  well 
as  their  crude  views  as  to  missions,  may  easily  mislead 
a  Western  traveler  who  happens  to  meet  them  on  such 
occasions. 

Spiritual  Contact.  —  Yet  even  on  the  missionary's  own 
ground  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  he  is  liable  to  be  un- 
justly estimated.  He  often  feels  called  upon  to  expostulate 
publicly  or  privately  with  open  sinners  among  the  Euro- 
peans, and  this  frequently  occasions  animosity.  His  con- 
science compels  him  either  entirely  to  abstain  from  preach- 
ing in  English,  or,  if  he  consents  to  do  so,  his  duty  to  the 
Hindus  impels  him  to  give  only  a  corner  of  his  time  to 

^  Stewart,  Life  and  Work  in  India,  p.  57. 


PROBLEMS   AND   OPPOiN'ENTS  245 

f/reparatlon.  This  fact'  and  his  constant  work  of  applying 
the  truth  to  Hindus  makes  his  method  of  presentation  as 
objectionable  to  an  Anglo-Indian  audience  as  is  his  use  of 
English,  which  is  vitiated  by  constant  employment  of  the 
vernacular. 

2.  Relations  to  Fellow-missionaries.  —  It  is  probably 
true  that  no  fellowship  is  more  warm  and  enjoyable  than 
that  existing  between  fellow-missionaries.  Yet  even  here 
difficulties  may  arise  that  are  serious  in  proportion  to  the 
strength  of  those  associated  together  in  the  same  mission 
or  station.  Differences  of  judgment  must  arise;  and 
where  only  two  are  in  the  same  station,  each  with  equal 
responsibility  for  its  work,  such  a  difference  excites  fric- 
tion. In  rare  cases  two  men  or  two  women  in  an  isolated 
station  are  unfortunately  uncongenial,  and  the  enforced 
close  contact  weakens  their  friendship  and  sometimes  their 
influence  and  power.  The  requirements  of  many  societies, 
which  seek  those  for  missionaries  who  are  men  of  peace 
and  able  to  live  in  harmony  with  their  brethren,  are  wise 
ones,  especially  in  view  of  provocative  conditions  in  India's 
climate  and  diseases.  *'  Piety  transplanted  from  a  tem- 
perate to  a  tropical  zone  is  likely  to  wither,  when  the 
thermometer  rises  to  ii8  degrees  in  the  shade  and  170  in 
the  sun.  Provocation  from  human  sources,  too,  is  sure 
then- to  be  at  its  most  active  point.  If  outbreaks  or  storms 
ever  arise  among  either  natives  or  foreigners,  they  are 
certain  to  occur  in  the  summer  season.  .  .  .  The  dis- 
eases of  the  country,  too,  produce  a  peculiarly  harassing 
effect  upon  the  temper.  Everybody  knows  how  liver  com- 
plaint, dyspepsia,  malarial  fever,  and  affections  of  the 
nervous  system  tend  to  depress  the  spirits  of  the  patient 
and  make  him  irritable."^  Though  the  writer  just  quoted 
is  speaking  of  the  hot  Punjab,  the  statement  is  to  some 
extent  true  of  all  India;  and  it  shows  the  need  of  charity 
for  discordant  notes  in  missionary  harmony  and  suggests 

*  Stewart,  Life  and  Work  in  Indie,  pp.  368,  369. 


246  INDIA  AND  CliklSTlAN   OPt»ORtUNITY 

the  need  of  prayer  on  the  part  of  the  Aarc^is  and  llurs 
who  hold  up  the  weary  hands  of  warriors  at  the  front. 

3.  Native  and  Foreign  Forces.  —  Missionaries  have 
been  criticised  for  the  relations  existing  between  them  and 
the  native  Church  and  especially  its  leaders.  Much  of  this 
criticism  is  groundless.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the 
missionaries  themselves  deplore  the  inevitable  chasm 
which  separates  them  from  their  beloved  people.  A  mis- 
sionary statesman  long  ago  wrote :  *  Distinctions  of  race 
are  irrepressible.  They  are  comparatively  weak  in  the 
early  stages  of  a  mission,  because  all  the  superiority  is  on 
the  one  side.  But  as  the  native  race  advances  in  intelligence, 
and  as  their  power  of  arguing  strengthens,  as  they  excel 
in  writing  sensational  statements,  as  they  become  our 
rivals  in  the  pulpit  and  on  the  platform,  long  cherished 
but  dormant  prejudices  and  even  passions  will  occasionally 
burst  forth.  .  .  .  Race  distinctions  will  probably  rise 
in  intensity  with  the  progress  of  the  mission."*  To  fuse 
and  combine  these  refractory  elements  no  agent  is  so 
powerful  as  genuine  love  united  with  a  humble  willing- 
ness to  live  close  to  the  heart  of  the  people,  even  if  one 
cannot  live  in  their  garb  and  homes. 

Native  Helpers.  —  The  primal  root  of  bitterness  between 
missionaries  and  their  native  helpers  is  due  to  the  relation 
of  employer  to  employee.  The  societies  pay  no  salary,  in 
the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  to  the  missionaries,  but  rather 
grant  allowances  for  necessary  and  effective  subsistence. 
Yet  even  on  this  scale  the  amount  received  by  the  native 
pastor  is  far  less  than  that  paid  to  his  superintending  mis- 
sionary. As  the  English  Government  salaries  its  agents 
on  the  basis  of  the  work  done  and  of  equal  qualifications, 
irrespective  of  race  requirements,  the  difference  is  a  cause 
of  criticism.  Moreover,  when  working  together  in  the 
field,  their  actual  needs,  as  well  as  native  ideas  as  to  the 

*  Venn,  quoted  by  Clark,  The  Punjab  and  Sitidh  Missions  of  the 
^hnrch  Missionary  Society,  p.  342. 


PROBLEMS   AND   OPPONENTS  24^ 

fitnass  of  things,  prevent  missionaries  and  their  assistants 
from  living  on  the  same  basis,  much  less  together.  Natu- 
rally the  missionary  will  fare  better.  Attempts  to  live  on 
the  same  scale  have  been  abandoned,  even  by  the  Salva- 
tion Army.  Perhaps  no  solution  of  this  difficulty  excels 
that  of  Xavier,  who  understood  the  Hindu  mind  when 
he  wrote :  "  Everywhere  men  like  to  be  cured  tenderly, 
but  in  no  country  more  than  in  India.  The  Indian  consti- 
tution is,  when  offended,  as  brittle  as  glass.  It  resists  a 
sharp  stroke,  or  breaks  into  shivers;  by  kind  treatment 
it  may  be  bent  and  drawn  out  as  you  will.  By  entreaties 
and  mildness  you  may  in  this  country  accomplish  anything; 
by  threats  and  severity,  nothing  at  all.''^ 

4.  The  Inner  Life.  —  No  human  factor  in  India's  evan- 
gelization is  so  central  as  the  missionary's  spiritual  life, 
and  few  are  more  apt  to  yield  to  the  unfavorable  environ- 
ment and  thus  lose  power.  The  cark  of  constant  care,  the 
frequent  loneliness  of  the  solitary  worker,  the  lack  of  spir- 
itual companionship  even  when  one  is  in  the  midst  of 
Christians,  disappointment  over  converts,  the  life  so  busy 
as  to  leave  little  time  for  spiritual  nurture  —  these  and  a 
thousand  other  causes  militate  against  inward  peace  and 
outward  efficiency.  The  workers,  realizing  their  need, 
are  more  and  more  availing  themselves  of  special  seasons 
for  unitedly  seeking  spiritual  refreshment  and  power.  The 
daily  dependence  must  be,  however,  what  the  veteran  Weit- 
brecht  prescribed  for  a  young  missionary :  "  Let  me  af- 
fectionately advise  you  as  an  elder  brother  to  adopt  a  reso- 
lution, with  a  view  to  advance  your  growth  in  grace  and 
spirituality  and  scriptural  knowledge,  which  I  have  found 
most  useful.  I  spend  at  least  half  an  hour,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, one  hour,  very  early,  and  again  before  bedtime,  in 
reading,  meditation,  and  prayer.  This  has  a  remarkable 
effect  in  keeping  one  in  that  calm,  proper,  peaceful,  cheer- 
ful frame  of  mind  —  and  this  precious  jewel  one  always 

*  Murdoch,  Indian  Missionary  Manual,   p.    350,   3rd   ed. 


248  INDIA  AND  CHRISTIAN   OPrORTUNITY 

is  in  danger  of  losing,  especially  in  India  —  we  so  much  re- 
quire to  fit  us  for  the  great  work  we  have  to  do;  and  it 
imparts  tact  and  feeling,  helping  us  to  act  and  speak  as 
we  should  do  at  all  hours."^ 

*  Murdoch,  Indian  Missionary  Manual,  p.  16,  3rd  ed. 


VIII 
RESULTS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Missionaries  to  India  are  very  happy  in  their  work 
and  are  no  less  optimistic  about  its  results.  Being  under 
Occidental  rule,  the  Empire  is  more  accurately  known 
from  a  religious  point  of  view  than  any  other  non-Chris- 
tian land;  and  hence  one  is  better  able  to  judge  as  to  the 
value  of  missions  there  than  in  China,  which  in  some 
respects  surpasses  India  as  a  mission  field.  A  survey  of 
what  has  been  accomplished  ought  to  inspire  all  friends 
of  Christianity  the  world  around.  The  true  significance 
of  the  progress  made  can  only  be  realized  when  the  un- 
usual difficulties,  mentioned  in  previous  chapters,  particu- 
larly in  that  immediately  preceding,  are  borne  in  mind.  If 
such  manifest  success  is  possible  in  India,  what  may  we 
not  hope  for  in  more  favored  lands? 

I.   A  Glance  at  Statistics 

On  subsequent  pages  will  be  found  the  latest  available 
statistics  furnished  us  from  missionary  society  offices; 
here  some  facts  from  tables  collected  by  missionaries  in 
India  will  be  used  in  order  to  compare  the  figures  with 
preceding  statistics  gathered  in  the  same  way,  and  also 
in  order  to  make  use  of  data  from  the  decennial  censuses, 
which  are  gathered  a  year  later  by  the  Government. 
Among  the  striking  figures  reported  at  the  Madras  Con- 
ference of  1902  were  the  following  '^ 

*  See  Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  1902,  p.  222. 
249 


250  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

I.    Protestant  Missionary  Statistics,  i8po-ipoo 

q  S 

2^  =2  wo 

cj  d  ^5 

/?/rt/^  Agency:  g  g  « ^ 

P'oreign  and  Eurasian  ordained  agents  .  1,049  9i8  +  14.3 

Asian  ordained  agents      ......  905 1  943  —      4 

Foreign    and     Eurasian     catechists   or 

preachers in  122  —     9 

Asian  catechists  or  preachers  ....  6,653  3,987  +  69,4 

Foreign  and  Eurasian  teachers      .     .     ,  41*  85  —  51.8 

Asian  teachers 9,050  5,679  +  59.4 

Female  Agency: 
Foreign  and  Eurasian  agents    ....      1,302  770     +   69.1 

Asian  agents 5.965       3,420     +   74.4 

Medical: 

Foreign  and  Eurasian  agency   ....  '93*  97*  +   99 

Asian  medical  agency 157*  168*   —     6.5 

Foreign  and  Eurasian  trained  nurses      .           44*  % 

Asian  trained  nurses    ...,,..  104*  % 

Medical  work,  evangelists,  etc.      .     .     .  168*  % 

Leper  asylum  agency 57  j 

Education,  male: 

Theological  and  training  school  students      1,810       i,743  +  3.8 

College  and  upper  school  students    .     .    52,597     55,063  —  4.5 

Lower  school  pupils 162,645^  132,312  +  22.9 

Education ,  female : 

Upper  and  middle  girls' school  pupils    .    11,508)  +2^2 

Primary  girls' school  pupils 79,144)''^'-''^"     "•"     •^' 

Boa  rding  p  up  ils : 
Males  in  boarding  schools  and  hostels    .    14,975  % 

Females  in  boarding  schools  and  hostels     13,514      7,604     +    77.7 

Zenana  tvork : 
Number  of  pupils 39,894*  32,659*   +    22.2 

General  Items : 

Total  Christian  agency 25,799     16,189     +    59-3 

Communicants 343,906  216,659     +    58.7 

Christian  community,  approximately     .  978,936  648,843     +   50.9 

*  Burma  not  returned, 
t  Returns  incomplete. 
i  Neither  ludia  nor  Burma  returned. 


RESULTS  AND  OrrORTUNITIES  25 1 

Remarks.  —  An  inspection  of  these  figures  will  show  a 
gain  per  cent,  in  every  item  where  comparison  oetween 
1890  and  1900  is  possible,  except  in  foreign  and  Eurasian 
catechists  or  preachers  and  in  college  and  upper  school 
students.  In  two  other  items,  concerning  which  the  re- 
turns were  incomplete,  there  is  also  a  slight  loss.  The 
last  three  items  are  especially  interesting.  Assuming  that 
the  statistics  are  equally  trustworthy  in  the  years  com- 
pared, there  has  been  an  increase  of  more  than  one-half 
in  each  item.  One  would  think  with  a  gain  of  59.3  per 
cent,  in  the  Christian  agency,  that  there  would  be  an  even 
larger  percentage  of  gain  in  the  number  of  communi- 
cants, which,  however,  is  not  the  case.  It  surely  would  be 
expected  that  when  both  the  agency  and  the  number  of 
communicants  had  so  largely  increased,  the  Christian 
community  would  grow  even  more  rapidly,  but  just  in  this 
item  the  greatest  falling  off  is  noticeable.  Yet  whatever  the 
explanation  of  this  is,  the  gains  of  the  decade  are  most  en- 
couraging, particularly  those  having  to  do  with  education. 

2.  Christianity  and  Other  Religions.  —  Comparison  of 
the  census  data  for  the  different  religions  of  India,  in- 
cluding Burma,  furnishes  occasion  for  further  gratitude 
to  God.^  For  the  decade  1890  to  1900  the  figures  are  as 
follows : 

Protestant  native  Christians,  about   .     .  50.87  per  cent,  increase. 

Buddhists 32.88 

Non-Protestant  native  Christians       .    .  21.44 

Sikhs 15-07 

Mohammedans 8.96 

Jews 6.01 

Parsees 4.76 

Hindus 28     "        "     decrease. 

Jains  .     .  5.82 

Animistic,  etc 6.15 

Increase  of  total  population 2.45 

^  See  Rct'Oii  of  the  Madras  Conference,  p.  218, 


252  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

According  to  these  census  figures  the  increase  of  the 
Protestant  native  Christian  community  has  surpassed  that 
of  all  other  faiths.  As  the  Buddhist  gains  are  in  India's 
Burman  territory,  they  do  not  affect  the  peninsula.  In 
point  of  percentage,  the  Protestant  community  increased 
more  than  three  times  as  much  as  did  the  Sikhs,  and  more 
than  five  times  as  much  as  the  Mohammedans;  whereas, 
Hinduism,  whether  its  losses  are  due  to  famines,  to  the 
inroads  of  other  religions,  to  emigration,  or  to  all  com- 
Dined,  has  retrograded  instead  of  gained  ground  during 
the  ten  years.  Perhaps  the  most  encouraging  feature  of 
the  census,  however,  is  the  fact  that  the  native  Protestant 
community  has  increased  in  a  ratio  nearly  twenty-one  times 
as  great  as  that  of  the  entire  population  of  India. 

3.  Educational  Comparisons.  —  As  the  Protestant  com- 
munity constitutes  only  .354  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  total 
population  it  could  hardly  be  expected  to  furnish  any  large 
proportion  of  the  school-going  portion  of  the  Empire.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  in  1900  those  in  missionary  institutions 
constituted  7.69  per  cent,  of  all  studying,  —  that  is,  Prot- 
estants supply  more  than  twenty-one  times  their  quota 
of  students  and  pupils.^  From  pages  62,  6^,,  of  Protestant 
Missions  in  India,  Burma,  and  Ceylon,  Statistical  Tables, 
JQOO,  one  readies  an  almost  identical  result  as  to  the  rela- 
tive proportion  of  honors  won  by  the  Protestant  students  in 
institutions  looking  toward  university  matriculation  and 
degrees,  where  they  work  side  by  side  with  non-Christian 
students.  During  the  years  1891-1900,  of  those  who  ma- 
triculated or  who  passed  First  Arts',  Bachelor's,  or  Mas- 
ter's examinations  the  Protestants  numbered  1,085;  while 
their  relation  to  the  entire  population  would  require  us  to 
look  for  forty-four  only.  It  is  interesting  to  note  from  the 
data  of  the  pamphlet  just  referred  to,  that  what  is  now  the 

*  Compare  statistics  in  Statesman's  Year-Book,  1903,  pp.  142,  143,  with 
those  in  Protestant  Missions  in  India,  Burma,  and  Ceylon,  Statistical 
Tables,  igoo,  pp.  62,  63. 


RESULTS  AND  OPPORTUNITIES  253 

United  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  during  the  decade  named, 
has  graduated  almost  exactly  three-fourths  of  the  entire 
number  who  from  missionary  institutions  have  gained 
B.  A.  or  M.  A.  degrees,  thus  nobly  following  up  the  prece- 
dents set  by  their  great  representative,  Dr.  Duff.  Madras 
Christian  College  easily  ranks  first  in  this  respect. 

4.  Forty  Years*  Progress.  —  Indian  missionaries  have 
collected  statistics  for  each  decennium  since  1851,  though 
the  last  two  issues  of  the  tables  have  been  published  to  the 
end  of  1890  and  1900,  thus  differing  by  part  of  a  year 
from  the  government  census.  In  the  earlier  decades  of  this 
period  some  of  the  items  gathered  later  do  not  appear. 
These  tables,  summarized  in  their  chief  items  for  half  a 
century,  will  be  found  in  Appendix  B.  A  few  leading 
items  from  that  table  will  aid  us  in  estimating  the  probable 
future  of  mission  work  in  India.  As  Burman  statistics 
are  not  available  for  185 1,  the  comparisons  must  be  taken 
from  later  decades  in  order  to  include  all  of  India. 

1861  1900 

Ordained  foreigners  and  Eurasians 501          1,049 

•*         Asians 143             905 

Asian  catechists  or  preachers 1*677          6,653 

"       organized  congregations 643          6,535 

"       communicants 43»4i5       343,9o6 

"       Christian  community 198,100      978,936 

College  and  upper  school  male  students     .     .     .  21,676         52,597 

Boarding  schools,  etc.,  males 2,988         14,975 

Lower  school  pupils,  males 40,164       162,645 

Boarding  schools,  etc.,  females 4,015         13,514 

Girls'  school  pupils 17,035         90,752 

Foreign  and  Eurasian  female  agents  in  187 1       .  405     1,302 

Asian  female  agents  in  1871^ 863     5,965 

Theological  and  training  school  students  in  1 87 1  1,561  1,810 
Males,  passed   matriculates,  First  Arts,  B.  A., 

M.  A.  in  missionary  institutions,  1 861 -i 871     .  2,306 

Number  of  above  who  passed  in  1 891-1900  .     .  12,194 

Zenana  pupils  in  India  without  Burma,  in  1871 .  1,997 

"       "      "          "            "         "  1900.  39,894 


254  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

Remarks.  —  The  foregoing  table  indicates  what  progress 
has  been  made  in  a  trifle  over  a  generation.  The  fuller 
one  in  Appendix  B.  is  even  more  encouraging,  since  it 
shoves  how  the  last  decade  has  surpassed  preceding  ones 
in  most  points  of  advance.  Momentum  is  evident  as  the 
years  pass.  Thus,  considering  the  past  thirty  years  only 
and  the  single  item  of  the  growth  in  the  number  of  com- 
mimicants,  we  have  the  following  results:  During  the 
years  1871-1881  they  increased  from  73,330  to  138,254,  a 
gain  of  88.54  per  cent.;  from  1881  to  1890  —  nine  years 
—  they  passed  from  138,254  to  215,759,  ^  g^^^  of  56.06 
per  cent.;  and  during  the  years  1890-1900  the  communi- 
cants increased  59.46  per  cent.,  passing  from  215,759  to 
343,906.  If  we  omit  the  unusually  high  percentage  of 
1871-1881  and  take  as  a  safer  figure  the  average  per- 
centage of  increase  of  the  two  periods  1881-1890  and  1890- 
1900,  —  which  is  one  year  short  of  two  decades,  —  namely, 
57.76  per  cent.,  this  figure  applied  to  the  membership  of 
1900  and  continued  until  1930  would  give  us  then  1,350,299 
communicants.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe,  however, 
that  such  a  computation  is  altogether  too  conservative, 
and  hence  larger  results  may  be  expected  in  1930. 

5.  Latest  Statistics  Sununarized.  —  The  previous  calcu- 
lations have  been  based  on  data  gathered  in  India  itself, 
which  are  not  quite  as  late  as  material  furnished  by  the 
various  societies  and  found  in  full  in  Appendix  C.  The 
following  items  in  that  table  deserve  notice : 

Foreign  missionaries,  both  sexes 4,104 

Native  workers,  both  sexes 25,727 

Native  communicants 438,076 

Native  community,  inch  communicants  and  adherents      .     i  ,042,300 

1^0 wer  schools  for  both  sexes 10,100 

Pupils  in  same 364,632 

Higher  institutions  for  both  sexes oLZ 

Students  in  same 29,632 

P'oreign  physicians,  both  sexes 226 

Patients  annually  treated 1,792,434 


RESULTS  AND  OPPORTUNITIES  255 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  increase  in  communicants  has 
been  16.32  per  cent,  for  the  two  years  since  the  societies 
sent  data  for  the  second  volume  of  the  Geography  and 
Atlas  of  Protestant  Missions.^ 

6.  Christians  as  Distributed  Locally.  —  Appendix  C. 
shows  approximately  the  distribution  of  the  Protestant 
community  in  India.  While  the  returns  are  not  careful 
in  stating  provincial  locations  in  every  case,  the  table 
below  will  give  the  approximate  location  of  the  foreign 
and  native  force  and  of  the  native  communicants: 

•    If     s    ii 

o  s  «  <  o  c  < 

Ajmere-Merwara 35  334  2,457 

Assam 94  263  13,828 

Baluchistan 13  7  53 

Baroda 6  58  901 

Bengal 735  3.234  83,228 

Berar 47  59  618 

Bombay 509  1,918  22,046 

Burma        241  2,219  46,877 

Central  India 57  121  448 

Central  Provinces 242  778  7,339 

Ilaidarabad 69  601  6,513 

Kashmir 34  5  '° 

Madras 1,020  8,959  169,634 

Mysore 65  597  1,993 

Northwest  Frontier  Province    ....  28  17  102 

Punjab 407  848  10,193 

Kajputana 25  245  3,322 

Sikkim i  22  loi 

United  Provinces 406  3,467  68,138 

The  reader  may  compare  these  figures  with  those  on  the 
sketch-map,  found  opposite  page  no,  though  he  should 
remember  that  census  data  are  more  general  than  figures 
furnished  by  missionary  societies. 

1  Sec  Sections  XVI.,  XVIII.,  pp.  24,  25,  of  that  volume, 


256  INDIA  AND  CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 


II.   Extra-statistical  Results  of  Indian  Missions 

1.  Mission  Plants.  —  One  of  the  most  surprising  feat- 
ures of  the  Exhibit  held  in  connection  with  the  Ecumenical 
Conference  at  New  York  in  1900  was  the  ocular  demon- 
stration through  photographs,  charts,  handiwork,  etc.,  of 
what  Indian  missions  possess  in  the  way  of  an  effective 
plant  for  the  work  doing.  No  data  are  available  to  make 
possible  an  accurate  statement  of  its  value,  but  an  eminent 
Indian  authority  writes :  "  The  thousands  of  acres  of  land 
and  the  many  thousands  of  substantial  edifices  erected  and 
dedicated  to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  connection  with  these 
missions  represent  an  investment  of  at  least  ten  million 
dollars;  and  this  money  not  only  represents  the  generosity 
of  Christians  in  the  West,  it  also  includes  the  self-denying 
offerings  of  Indian  Christians,  who  from  their  poverty 
have  given  liberally  to  build  up  the  cause  which  is  dear 
to  their  hearts.  Mission  educational  institutions  are  housed 
in  a  legion  of  substantial  and  beautiful  buildings,  ranging 
from  the  massive,  imposing  structures  of  the  Madras 
Christian  College  downward;  churches  there  are  of  all 
sizes  and  architectural  design,  from  the  magnificent  and 
beautiful  stone  edifice  which  accommodates  its  thousands 
and  which  was  erected  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
in  Megnanapuram,  Tinnevelly,  down  to  the  unpretentious 
prayer-house  of  a  small  village  congregation.  A  host  of 
suitable  buildings  for  hospitals,  presses,  and  publishing 
houses,  residences  for  missionaries  and  native  agents, 
school  dormitories,  gymnasia,  and  lecture  halls,  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  and  other  society  buildings — • 
all  these  represent  that  power  for  service,  incarnate  in 
brick  and  mortar,  which  is  invaluable  and  even  indispensa- 
ble to  the  great  missionary  enterprise  in  that  land."* 

2.  Christian  Tools.  —  Almost  as  important  as  the  plant 

^  Jones,  India's  Problem,  pp.  300,  301. 


RESULTS  AND  OPPORTUNITIES  25/ 

is  the  fine  supply  of  tools  now  ready  to  the  hand  of  the 
workers.  The  product  of  the  forty-three  mission  presses 
of  India  furnishes  every  grade  of  literary,  educational, 
and  evangelistic  tool,  from  the  cheapest  leaflet  to  the 
most  expensive  volume  in  rare  binding,  and  to  the  number 
of  4,320,285  copies  annually/  This  record  is  almost  twice 
as  great  as  that  of  China,  its  nearest  competitor.  Chief 
among  these  instruments  of  warfare  against  ignorance, 
both  mental  and  spiritual,  is  the  Word  of  God.  "  Bible  V" 
work  in  India  is  now  conducted  in  about  sixty  languages 
and  dialects.  The  entire  Bible  is  translated  into  all  the 
great  vernaculars,  as  well  as  into  Sanskrit,  Arabic,  and 
Persian.  In  other  languages  the  New  Testament  is  found 
complete.  But  in  the  larger  part  of  the  languages  thus  far 
utilized,  only  portions  have  yet  been  translated,  in  some 
instances  only  a  single  Gospel.  .  .  .  Extensive  re- 
visions have  been  undertaken  in  nearly  all  the  prominent 
versions  of  the  Bible,  some  of  which  have  been  completed, 
while  others  are  still  in  progress."*  This  item  of  tools  is 
significant,  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  numbers  quoted, 
but  for  the  reason  that  the  missionary  in  India  is  reheved 
at  this  stage  of  the  enterprise  of  the  serious  toil  resting  on 
those  who  cannot  undertake  work  until  the  school-room 
and  the  church  are  well  stocked  with  these  invaluable  aids. 
Moreover,  in  a  land  where  hostility  to  Christianity  is  so 
strong,  especially  among  the  better  classes,  effective  litera- 
ture is  a  secret  messenger  from  God  to  the  immured  or 
timorous  soul.  No  missionary  land  is  so  well  supplied 
with  helpful  literature  as  India.  -^ 

3.   Native  Agency.  —  The  native  Christian  catechists, 
preachers,  teachers,  and  pastors  are  a  most  important  asset.     _^ 
Apply  the  following  words  of  Malcom  to  the  majority  in 
the  regiments  of  the  Indian  native  contingent,  and  one  can 
imagine  the  power  resident  in  their  ranks.    "  The  import-  . 

*■  Dennis,  Centennial  Sun-ey  of  Foreign  Missions,  pp.  177,  178,  269. 
'Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  i^s,  pp.   199,  200,. 


258  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPrORTUNITY 

ance  of  this  class  of  auxiliaries  can  scarcely  be  too  highly 
estimated.  Without  risk  of  health  and  with  little  expense 
or  inconvenience,  they  can  carry  the  tidings  of  salvation 
where  a  missionary  can  not  go,  or  may  not  be  sent  for  an 
age.  They  can  travel,  eat,  sit,  and  lodge  as  the  natives 
do.  Between  these  and  themselves  there  is  not  that  awful 
distance  which  can  scarcely  be  overcome  by  a  missionary. 
Their  knowledge  of  the  language  is  complete,  which  can 
seldom  be  said  of  a  foreigner.  They  know  from  experience 
the  exact  temptations,  doubts,  difficulties,  and  prejudices 
of  their  hearers.  They  can  talk  with  an  inquirer  often  and 
long,  without  drawing  opposition  upon  him  before  he  has 
become  enlightened  and  firm  enough  to  endure  it."^  Many 
of  these  leaders  are  well  educated.  "  They  are  faithful 
workers,"  writes  Dr.  Jones,  "  and  are  increasingly  worthy, 
and  enjoy  the  confidence  of  their  missionary  associates. 
Among  the  native  agents  of  our  Protestant  missions  in 
South  India  alone  there  are  about  100  university  graduates, 
200  First  in  Arts,  —  the  degree  granted  after  two  years 
of  college  work,  —  and  600  university  matriculates.  This 
thorough  utilization  of  a  strong,  cultured,  native  agency 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  results  of  the  last  century's 
work  in  that  land.  And  it  is  the  more  remarkable  in  the 
case  of  the  women,  since  a  generation  ago  hardly  any 
of  the  weaker  sex  were  in  mission  employ,  while  to-day 
the  missions  of  South  India  alone  employ  3,000  of  them. 
It  is  practically  the  creation  of  a  mighty  and  most  faithful 
and  devoted  agency  in  one  generation."' 

4.  Native  Church.  —  The  native  Church  in  its  rank  and 
file  is  also  a  remarkable  result  of  missionary  effort,  under 
the  blessing  of  God.  It  may  be  ignorant  and  caste-ham- 
pered and  erring;  but  the  Church  at  Corinth  was  also 
ignorant  with  "  not  many  wise  after  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble."    And,  alas  !  like  the  Corinthians, 

^  Murdoch,   Indian    Missionary   Maiuial,   p.    .:C)G,   3rd  ed. 
-Jones,  India's  Problem,  p.   306. 


RESULTS  AND  OPPORTUNITIES  259 

there  are  also  sinful  "  saints  "  not  a  few  among  the  Indian 
Christians.  Set  over  against  such  persons  the  vast  num- 
ber of  those  who  are  living  simple,  Gospel  lives,  testify- 
ing to  the  v^orld  through  their  words  and  actions  of  the 
grace  of  God  which  is  in  them,  and  then  recall  that  it  was 
not  a  century  ago  when  the  holy  Henry  Martyn  despaired 
of  ever  seeing  so  great  a  miracle  as  a  Hindu  truly  con- 
verted to  God  any  more  than  he  could  hope  to  see  one 
rise  from  the  grave. 

One  Test.  —  As  a  single  test  of  the  virility  of  the  aver- 
age Christian  convert  in  India,  consider  the  amount  con- 
tributed for  religious  purposes  by  those  who  belong  almost 
entirely  to  that  fifth  of  the  Indian  people  who,  according 
to  government  statistics,  are  in  a  chronic  state  of  hunger. 
The  same  statistics  state  that  the  average  income  for  a 
man  having  a  family  is  less  than  $1.50  per  month.  "A 
few  years  ago,"  writes  Dr.  Jones,  "  I  investigated  carefully 
the  economic  conditions  of  the  most  prosperous  and  largest 
village  congregation  of  the  Madura  Mission.  I  discovered 
that  v$i.66  was  the  average  monthly  income  of  each  family 
of  that  congregation.  And  that  meant  only  thirty-three 
cents  a  month  for  the  support  of  each  member  of  a  family ! 
We  have  congregations  whose  income  is  less  than  this; 
and  yet  the  members  of  that  Mission  contributed  over 
seventy-five  cents  per  church  member  as  their  offering  for 
1900.  For  all  the  Protestant  missions  in  South  India  the 
average  offering  per  church  member  during  1900  was 
fifty-two  cents.  For  South  India  this  represented  an  ag- 
gregate sum  of  $83,000,  or  about  seven  and  one-half  per 
cent,  of  the  total  sum  expended  in  the  missions  during  that 
year.  ...  If  our  American  Christians  contributed  for 
the  cause  of  Christ  a  percentage  of  their  income  equal  to 
that  of  the  native  Christians  of  India,  they  would  quadruple 
their  benevolence."^  The  result  of  such  enlarged  contribu- 
tions at  home  would  solve  the  financial  problem. 
*  Jones,  India's  Problem,  pp.  325,  326. 


260  INDIA  ANt)  CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITV 

5.  Native  Leaders.  —  The  impression  that  the  Indian 
Church  is  without  any  members  of  distinction  is  dispelled 
by  Mr.  Modak's  volumes,  from  which  the  following  facts 
are  quoted.     There  are  in  the  Church : 

15  Protestant  Indian  Christian  civil  engineers. 

92  "  "               "          lawyers. 

106  "  "  Christians  who  have  visited  foreign  countries. 

354  "  "  Christian  traders. 

590  "  "             "         medical  men. 

646  "  "             "         authors  and  editors. 

1,010  "  "             "         ordained  ministers. 

1,098  "  "  Christians  in  government  service. 

"  In  these  calculations  many  traders  whose  income  is 
small  have  not  been  counted,  nor  have  such  government 
servants  been  named  as  hold  very  humble  positions.  Of 
mechanical  engineers  there  is  a  large  class  forming  a 
strong  proportion  of  those  who  work  as  joiners  and  fitters 
in  workshops  and  factories.  The  number  of  those  who 
have  visited  foreign  countries  does  not  include  those  who 
have  accompanied  Europeans  as  their  domestic  servants."^ 
Examples.  —  A  few  conspicuous  names  are  singled  out 
of  the  mass  to  illustrate  the  summary  given.  Others  may 
be  found  in  abundance  in  Carey's  three  octavo  volumes, 
entitled  Oriental  Christian  Biography,  in  Murdoch's 
Sketches  of  Indian  Christians,  and  elsewhere.  Begin- 
ning, with  those  early  confessors,  Krishna  Pal  and  Ko 
Thah-byu,  already  mentioned,  one  passes  down  through 
the  century  noticing  the  names  of  such  high-caste  converts 
as  Krishna  Mohan  Banerjea,  D.  L.,  distinguished  as  a 
Hindu  editor  and,  after  his  conversion,  as  a  professor  in 
Bishop's  College,  as  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  above  all  as  the  native  father  of  Bengali  litera- 
ture; of  Ram  Chandra  Bose,  M.  A.,  whose  career  as  an 
educator  would  have  placed  him  in  the  highest  official 

1  Modak,  Directory  of  Protestant  Indian  Christians,  vol.  ii.,  Appendix, 
p.   ill 


RESULTS  AND  OPPORTUNITIES  261' 

position,  had  he  not  chosen  to  become  an  evangelist  under 
the  American  Methodists,  until  the  demands  made  upon 
him  as  a  lecturer  in  India  and  at  Chicago  University  — 
where  he  gained  his  M.  A.  —  brought  him  before  a  larger 
audience;  of  Professor  Ram  Chandra,  whose  work  on  the 
Problems  of  Maxima  and  Minima  made  his  name  famous  in 
the  Universities  of  Europe,  as  did  later  writings  on  Differ- 
ential and  Integral  Calculus,  and  who  became  head  of  the 
Department  of  Instruction  in  one  of  the  native  states;  of 
Rev.  Imad-ud-din,  D.  D.,  the  most  distinguished  accession 
from  Indian  Mohammedanism,  whose  conversion  is  of 
thrilling  interest,  and  whose  twenty-four  Christian  books 
are  a  most  valued  addition  to  Indian  literature;  and  of 
Rev.  Narayan  Sheshadri,  a  Brahman  convert  of  Dr.  John 
Wilson,  who  gained  so  enviable  a  reputation  during  his 
visit  in  America,  whence  he  carried  home  from  McGill 
University  of  Montreal  the  degree  of  D.  D.  Nor  do  these 
men  belong  only  to  the  past.  At  King  Edward's  corona- 
tion in  London  as  Emperor  of  India,  twenty  representa- 
tives of  the  native  Indian  Church  were  present,  six  of 
them  being  ruling  princes.  Through  the  most  distin- 
guished of  these,  Sir  Harnam  Singh  Ahluwalia, 
K.  C.  I.  E.,  the  Indian  Christians  presented  to  their  new 
Sovereign  an  address,  a  single  paragraph  of  which  we 
quote  as  showing  the  royal  spirit  of  the  commonalty  and 
leaders  of  the  native  Church  alike.  "  Professing  the  faith 
of  which  Your  Majesty  is  the  Defender,  we  devoutly  pray 
that  the  century  which  is  marked  by  the  beginning  of  your 
reign  may  be  signalized  by  unprecedented  triumphs  in  the 
progress  of  Christ's  Kingdom,  and  that  Your  Majesty's 
righteous  rule  may  be  graciously  used  by  God  to  further 
the  great  end."^ 

6.    A  New  Womanhood.  —  As  before  intimated,  Chris- 
tianity's greatest  triumph  in  India  has  been  its  creation  of 

^  Proceedings  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  for  Africa  and  the 


26^  INDIA  AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNIW 

a  new  Christian  womanhood.  In  the  Hfe  of  the  Christian 
community  she  ah-eady  has  a  high  place  of  honor  and  in- 
fluence. Instead  of  her  education  being  under  the  taboo 
of  the  Bhagavat,  "  The  Vedas  are  not  to  be  heard  either 
by  the  servile  class,  women,  or  degraded  Brahmans,"  —  a 
taboo  which  included  pronunciation,  grammar,  versification, 
arithmetic,  etc.,  —  recent  educational  statistics  show  that 
on  March  31,  1901,  there  were  in  Indian  schools  429,490 
women  and  girls.^  According  to  the  tables  in  Protestant 
■Missions  in  India,  Burma,  and  Ceylon,  giving  the  data  to 
the  end  of  1900,  there  were  106,266  women  and  girls  under 
instruction  in  mission  schools  only.  While  the  data  are  not 
complete,  they  show  that  at  least  one-fifth  of  the  total 
number  of  female  scholars  and  students  was  in  schools  of 
the  Christian  Church. 

Notable  Women.  —  Illustrations  of  the  sort  of  woman- 
hood which  is  produced  by  the  Christian  Church  are  most 
interesting.  Take,  for  instance,  the  Sorabjis  of  Western 
India,  a  family  of  converted  Parsees.  "  One  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  the  family,  the  widow  of  an  Englishman,  lives  in 
London  and  has  delighted  the  Queen  by  her  exquisite  ren- 
dering of  Persian  songs.  One  sister  is  an  artist,  whose 
paintings  are  exhibited  in  Paris  and  London.  One  is  a 
surgeon  of  distinction.  It  was  another  daughter  of  this 
family  who  was  the  only  representative  of  her  sex  from 
the  Orient  at  the  Parliament  of  Religions  in  Chicago.  The 
most  distinguished  of  these  seven  sisters  is  Cornelia  So- 
rabji,  the  barrister.  Her  graduating  paper  on  *  Roman 
Law'  at  Oxford  was  classed  among  the  best  papers  pro- 
duced by  the  pupils  of  that  famous  institution.  She  is  the 
first  lady  barrister  of  India,  and  is  not  only  a  powerful 
advocate,  but  also  a  brilliant  writer,  as  her  book  and  her 
articles  on  the  woman  question  in  the  Nineteenth  Century 
amply  testify.""    The  two  Satthianadhans,  one  the  mother 

^  Statesman's    Year-Bnok,    1903,    p.     143. 
'Jones,  India's  Problem,  p.    322. 


RESULTS  AND  OrrORTUNITlES  263 

and  the  other  the  wife  of  the  brilliant  professor  of  ^Mental 
and  Moral  Science  in  the  Presidency  College,  Madras,  are 
other  illustrations  of  rare  intellectual  and  literary  ability, 
—  the  younger  woman  gained  an  M.  A.,  —  as  well  as  of 
deeply  consecrated  lives.  Mrs.  Tabitha  Bauboo  of  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland  Mission  was  the  pioneer  of 
zenana  teaching  in  high  class  Hindu  families  and  was  also 
a  distinguished  educator.  One  of  our  most  spiritual  hymns, 
"  In  the  secret  of  His  presence  how  my  soul  delights  to 
hide,"  suggests  the  power  as  a  writer  of  Miss  Goreh, 
daughter  of  the  distinguished  clergyman  of  the  High 
Church  party  In  India,  Rev.  Nehemlah  Goreh.  American 
audiences  recall  the  grace  and  winsomeness  of  Miss  Lila- 
vati  Singh,  B.  A.  "  It  was  after  hearing  Miss  Singh's  ad- 
dress on  the  Results  of  Higher  Education,  of  which  she 
herself  is  an  exponent,  that  General  Harrison  said,  *  If  I 
had  given  a  million  dollars  to  foreign  missions,  I  should 
count  it  wisely  invested,  if  it  led  to  the  conversion  of  that 
one  woman,'  "^  a  statement  that  many  besides  the  late  ex- 
President  would  heartily  endorse.  Miss  Chandra  Mukhi 
Bose,  M.  A., —  the  first  Indian  woman  to  receive  that  de- 
gree, —  is  a  fine  illustration  of  what  can  be  done  for  the 
Church  through  education.  She  is  the  accomplished  Prin- 
cipal of  the  Bethune  Girls'  College  in  Calcutta.  And  who 
in  the  civilized  world  does  not  know  Pundlta  Ramabai  and 
her  career  as  a  philanthropist,  educator,  and  Christian  re- 
former? Any  land  might  well  be  proud  of  such  a  name, 
and  any  Church  under  whose  banner  she  fought  would 
be  assured  of  victory  in  that  division. 

7.  Native  Philanthropies,  —  One  of  the  richest  fruits  of 
missionary  effort  is  the  appearance  of  initiative  in  the 
native  Church  itself.  Already  Christian  activity  has 
found  exercise  in  enterprises  not  a  few,  of  which  Dr. 
Jones  notes  Miss  Chuckerbutty's  flourishing  orphanages, 
Mrs.  SorabjI's  High  School  for  Women,  the  Gopalgange 

^  Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference,  N.  Y,,  IQOO,  vol.  i.,  p.  47, 


264  INDIA   AND  CHRISTIAN  OFPORTUNITY 

Mission  of  Rev.  M.  N.  Bose,  and  Dr.  B.  P.  Keskar's 
Orphanage  and  Industrial  Mission  at  Sholapnr.  He  like- 
wise mentions  more  fully  Pundita  Ramabai's  well-known 
institution  for  child-widows  at  Poona,  and  the  later  but 
wider  work  in  the  interest  of  some  2,000  waifs  and  orphans 
of  her  own  sex.  While  financial  support  is  largely  derived 
from  the  Occident,  she  is  its  soul  and  receives  the- aid  of 
fellow  Indians.  Thus  this  Brahman  widow  is  a  Christian 
Barnardo,  as  well  as  a  social  reformer, 
y  8.  Evangelistic  Undertakings. —  Even  more  significant  is 
the  emergence  of  native  Christians  of  unusual  evangelistic 
fervor  and  power.  Conspicuous  movements  are  yearly 
coming  to  the  front,  one  recent  instance  of  which  must 
suffice.  It  is  the  Ko  San-ye  Movement  in  Burma,  about 
which  the  missionaries  are  still  in  doubt,  though  it  seems 
to  be  a  remarkable  instance  of  God's  power  to  use  a  single 
man.  A  converted  Buddhist  ascetic,  this  man  of  forty  is 
a  John  the  Baptist  to  the  missionaries  with  whom  he  heart- 
ily cooperates.  A  discriminating  missionary  who  has  nar- 
rowly watched  his  work,  mentions  the  following  positive 
results  of  his  work  thus  far:  "(i)  It  has  arrested  the  drift 
into  Buddhism,  which  was  carrying  away  the  heathen 
Karens  and  making  them  as  inaccessible  to  the  Gospel  as 
the  Burmans.  (2)  It  has  weaned  many  of  the  Karens 
from  a  multitude  of  customs  connected  with  the  old  Karen 
demon  worship,  customs  which  have  been  a  great  stum- 
bling-block in  the  way  of  accepting  Christ.  (3)  It  has 
awakened  the  Karen?  out  of  the  sordid  materialism,  which 
made  so  many  of  thfem  indifferent  to  any  interests  above 
those  of  the  body,  arid  hence  made  them  indifferent  to  the 
Gospel,  with  its  ne\j'S  of  spiritual  blessings.  (4)  It  has 
brought  many  to  a  rjeal  conviction  of  the  existence,  unity, 
and  fatherhood  of  GjDd.  (5)  It  has  provided  a  wide-open 
door  for  evangelistic  effort.  Ko  San-ye's  adherents  re- 
ceive the  Christian  preachers  gladly,  even  when  they  do 
not  accept  Christianity.     In  many  quarters,  where  three 


RESULTS  AND  OPrORTUNITIES  265 

years  ago  our  preaching  was  met  with  indifference,  it  is 
now  eagerly  Hstened  to.  (6)  On  the  Rangoon  field  the 
missionaries  and  the  Karen  pastors'have  actually  gathered 
hundreds  of  Ko  San-ye's  followers  into  the  churches.  On 
the  Henzada  field  few  have  as  yet  come  into  the^church. 
Many  say  that  they  will,  but  the  movement  is  slow.  This 
is  not  altogether  a  cause  of  regret.  As  Ko  San-ye  himself 
says :  *  There  is  no  use  in  baptizing  them  until  they  re- 
ceive a  new  heart.'"  .  .  .  "His  object  as  expressed 
to  me  is  to  lead  the  heathen  gradually  to  Christ.  He 
seems  to  think  that  the  heathen  K'arens  will  be  puzzled 
and  frightened  by  being  asked  to  accept  the  Gospel  imme- 
diately. The  Karens  have  largely  departed  from  the 
monotheism  of  their  ancestors;  and  Ko  San-ye  seeks,  by 
a  use  of  the  ancient  Karen  legends,  to  bring  back  his  peo- 
ple to  a  purified  form  of  that  monotheism.  He  thinks  — 
and  experience  proves  that  he  rightly  thinks  —  that  this 
will  be  a  comparatively  easy  step  for  them.  He  also  thinks 
that  when  they  have  come  to  worship  God  and  have  for- 
saken Buddhism  and  the  old  Karen  demon-worship,  they 
will  be  in  a  favorable  condition  to  receive  the  Gospel."^ 
His  phenomenal  ability  to  raise  money  for  religious  pur- 
poses and  his  wisdom  in  forming  industrial  settlements  are 
other  features  of  this  remarkable  man's  career. 

HI.    Leavening  the  Empire 

I.  Indian  Lazi'.  —  While  there  is  a  tendency  to  overesti- 
mate missionary  influence  in  the  improved  social  and 
moral  legislation  of  the  Empire,  there  is  no  question  but 
that  what  Dr.  George  Smith  has  been  quoted  as  saying  of 
the  East  India  Company's  legislation  is  also  true  of  later 
measures.  "  Not  fewer  than  twenty  laws  have  thus  been 
enacted  in  that  land  during  the  last  century,  with  a  view 
of  putting  an  end  to  religious  customs  which  robbed  thou- 

^  Baptist  Missionary  Magazine,  September,   1903,  pp.  637-639, 


266  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

sands  of  people  annually  of  life  itself,  and  deprived  man^; 
thousands  more  of  the  most  elementary  and  inalienable 
rights  of  human  beings.  So  it  has  become  penal  to  do  any 
one  of  the  following  things,  all  of  which  were  regarded 
as  expressions  of  the  highest  religious  devotion  and  were 
committed  with  the  sanction  of  the  ancestral  faith  and 
under  the  inspiration  of  its  benediction :  To  burn  widows ; 
to  expose  parents  to  death  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges; 
to  offer  up  human  sacrifices ;  to  murder  children,  either  by 
throwing  them  into  the  Ganges,  or  by  the  Rajput  secret 
method  of  infanticide;  to  encourage  men  to  throw  away 
their  lives  under  temple  cars  and  in  other  ways  of  religious 
devotion;  to  encourage  various  forms  of  voluntary  self- 
torture  and  self-mutilation;  to  outrage  girls  under  a  certain 
age."^  This  is  only  a  concrete  form  of  the  statement  made 
in  general  terms  in  the  "  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  State 
and  Council  of  India  upon  the  Moral  and  Material  Prog- 
ress of  India  for  1872-1873,"  a  sentence  of  which,  referring 
to  the  missionaries,  reads :  "  They  have  frequently  ad- 
dressed the  Indian  Government  on  important  social  ques- 
tions involving  the  welfare  of  the  native  community,  and 
have  suggested  valuable  improvements  on  existing  laws."* 
2.  Reforms.  —  Reforms  which  have  shown  their 
strength  in  the  national  conscience  only  have  been  fur- 
thered by  Christian  missions.  Among  these  may  be  named 
such  agitations  as  have  resulted  in  deep  convictions  con- 
cerning the  following  subjects:  (i)  The  cruel  treatment 
of  widows,  especially  those  who  are  young;  (2)  the  fur- 
thering of  education  among  girls  and  women,  which 
gained  its  first  object-lessons  in  early  Christian  schools, 
and  whose  principal  advocates  have  been  missionaries  from 
the  Serampore  trio  and  Duff  dov/n  to  the  deliverances 
of  the  Madras  Conference  of  1902;  (3)  the  acknowledge- 
ment of  the  brotherhood  of  man,  conspicuously  in  the  mat- 

^  Jones,  India's  Problem,  p.   339. 

^  Blue  Book,  XII.,  Education,  p.  153. 


RESULTS  AND  OPFOET UNITIES  267 

lev  of  caste,  which  Dr.  Wilson  characterized  as  "  the  off- 
spring of  pride  and  deceit,  the  mainspring  of  hatred,  di- 
vision, ahenation,  and  tyranny  ' ;  (4)  the  feeling  against 
nautch  women,  who  are  t^e  seductive  sirens  annually  al- 
luring to  death,  under  religious  sanctions,  thousands  of 
India's  youth;  (5)  the  demand  for  a  higher  moral  char- 
acter in  public  men,  which  was  voiced  in  a  resolution 
passed  by  the  Social  Conference  of  1894,  that  the  "  private 
life  and  morals  of  public  men  should  be  pure  and  self- 
denying,  as  the  proper  discharge  of  their  duties  demands  " ; 
(6)  the  growing  regard  for  truth,  which  is  so  character- 
istic of  the  Church  and  which  was  so  conspicuously  absent 
in  the  India  of  a  century  ago;  and  (7)  the  greater  preva- 
lence of  honesty  and  a  sense  of  duty  among  the  higher 
ranks  of  society.^  The  Indian  National  Congress,  which 
brings  together  annually  some  5,000  native  gentlemen  for 
the  discussion  of  matters  of  state  and  of  society,  is  too 
often  critical  and  abusive  in  its  tone;  yet  on  its  higher 
side,  its  deliberations  are  at  once  helpful  and  difficult  to 
explain  had  there  not  arisen  a  better  social  and  moral 
conscience  as  a  by-product  of  Christian  teaching. 

3.  Christian  Ideals.  —  In  the  realm  of  religion  Chris- 
tianity has  widely  leavened  the  Indian  Empire.  True  ideas 
of  God,  the  annulling  of  the  old  divorce  between  morality 
and  religion,  thus  uniting  again  what  God  meant  should 
never  be  dissevered,  and  the  disintegration  of  the  old  views 
of  worship  by  the  introduction  of  the  spiritual  elements 
of  true  prayer  and  consecration,  —  these  are  more  impor- 
tant contributions  of  Christian  missions  to  India's  moral 
development,  and  they  are  so  regarded  by  the  leaders  in 
native  religious  reforms. 

The  Ideal.  —  But  far  above  all  those  abstract  ideas  ot 

morality  and  religion  which  have  come  from  the  Christian 

faith    is    Christianity's    Incarnate    Ideal,    who    has    been 

greeted  with  enthusiasm  by  men  and  women  of  all  the  In- 

*  See  Murdoch,  History  of  Christianity  in  India,  pp.  126-128, 


-^268  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

dian  creeds.  The  devotion  to  Jesus  as  the  highest  of  all 
ideals  is  one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  of  the  present  day 
in  India.  Proof  of  this  enthusiasm  for  Jesus  has  already 
been  seen  in  Chapter  IV.;  but  another  significant  utter- 
ance, typical  of  many  similar  ones,  is  subjoined.  It  is 
from  an  address  delivered  in  the  theater  of  the  Medical 
College,  Calcutta,  on  May  5,  1866,  by  Keshab  Chander 
Sen.  Speaking  of  Jesus,  he  says :  "  How  He  lived  and 
died;  how  His  ministry,  extending  over  three  short  years, 
produced  amazing  results  and  created  almost  new  life  in 
His  followers;  how  His  words,  spoken  in  thrilling  but 
simple  eloquence,  flew  like  wildfire  and  inflamed  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  multitudes  to  whom  He  preached;  how 
in  spite  of  awful  discouragements.  He  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  hearts  of  some  at  least ; 
and  how  ultimately  He  sacrificed  Himself  for  the  bene- 
fit of  mankind,  are  facts  of  which  most  of  you  here  present 
are  no  doubt  aware.  I  shall  not  enter  into  the  details  of 
His  life  and  ministry,  as  my  present  business  is  simply  with 
the  influence  which  He  exercised  on  the  world.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  it  was  solely  for  His  thorough  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  truth  and  the  interests  of  suffering  humanity 
that  He  patiently  endured  all  the  privations  and  hardships 
which  came  in  His  way,  and  met  that  fierce  storm  of  per- 
secution w^iich  His  infuriated  antagonists  poured  on  His 
devoted  head.  It  was  from  no  selfish  impulse,  from  no 
spirit  of  mistaken  fanaticism  that  He  bravely  and  cheer- 
fully offered  Himself  to  be  crucified  on  the  cross.  He  laid 
down  His  life  that  God  might  be  glorified.  I  have  always 
regarded  the  cross  as  a  beautiful  emblem  of  self-sacrifice 
unto  the  glory  of  God,  one  which  is  calculated  to  quicken 
the  higher  feelings  and  aspirations  of  the  heart  and  to 
purify  the  soul;  and  I  believe  there  is  not  a  heart,  how 
callous  and  hard  soever  it  may  be,  that  can  look  with 
cold  indifference  on  that  grand  and  significant  symbol. 
Such  honorable  and  disinterested  self-sacrifice  has  pro- 


RESULTS   AND   OPrORTUNITIES  269 

duced,  as  might  be  anticipated,  wonderful  results;  the 
noble  purpose  of  Christ's  noble  heart  has  been,  fully 
achieved,  as  the  world's  history  will  testify.  The  vast 
moral  influence  of  His  life  and  death  still  lives  in  hu- 
man society  and  animates  its  movciricnts."^ 

*  Young,    Tlie  Success  of  Christian  Missions,  pp.  91,  92. 


IX 


RECENT  MOVEMENTS  AND  PRESSING  OPPOR- 
TUNITIES 

Since  the  fateful  days  of  the  Mutiny,  India  has  not 
been  in  a  state  of  unrest  and  agitation  that  is  at  all  com- 
parable with  what  has  been  witnessed  there  since  1905. 
This  does  not  mean  that  the  movements  and  problems  are 
essentially  different  from  what  was  already  present  in  the 
Empire  and  noted  in  earlier  chapters  of  this  volume. 
While  some  new  elements  have  entered  into  the  situation, 
the  recent  agitation  has  its  seeds  in  the  past,  and  the  new 
factors  are  mainly  matters  of  emphasis  and  variation  in 
manifestation.  Though  the  new  order  does  not  mate- 
rially differ  from  the  old,  the  opportunity  of  to-day  is  more 
critical  and  pressing  than  that  of  previous  periods. 
George  Puttenham  quaintly  remarks,  "  Every  thing  hath 
his  season,  which  is  called  Oportunitie,  and  the  vnfitnesse 
or  vndecency  of  the  time  is  called  Importunitie."^  The 
survey  of  the  situation  in  India  surely  bears  one  out  in 
the  assertion  that  this  is  the  time  of  golden  opportunity, 
and  that  there  is  absolutely  nothing  to  render  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  work  there  inopportune. 

I.    Rfxent  National  Movement 

I.  The  Swadeshi  Movement  Defined. —  Much  of  the 
unrest  in  India,  which  has  been  so  prominent  a  factor 
in  the  national  life  since  the  partition  of  Bengal  in  Octo- 
ber, 1905,  and  the  sessions  of  the  National  Congress  dur- 
ing Christmas  Week  of  1906,  is  summed  up  in  the  word 

^  Puttenham,   The  Art  of  English  Poesie,  p.  22$. 
270 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS   AND   OPrURTUNITIES  2/1 

"  Swadeshi '' —  home  country  —  and  the  less  common 
word  "  Swaraj  " —  home  rule.  The  cry,  "  Bande  ma- 
taram  !  " —  Hail  motlier  country  !  —  voices  its  patriotic 
aims.  Some  characterizations  of  the  movement,  taken 
from  Indian  newspapers  and  reviews,  will  give  its  varied 
content.  "  In  its  liberal  and  broadest  sense  Swadeshiism 
is  equivalent  to  nationalism,  or  national  patriotism." 
"  The  Sw^adeshi  movement  is  an  Indian  mother  whose 
first-born  has  been  named  *  our  national  consciousness.' " 
"The  Swadeshi  movement  is  the  child  of  the  discontent 
of  modern  Indians  under  their  present  condition  of  de- 
pendence—  a  discontent  perfectly  healthy  and  legitimate 
and  due  to  causes  England  herself  set  at  work."  "  The 
Swadeshi  movement  is  a  revolt  of  the  Indian  people 
against  their  state  of  dependence  in  all  branches  of  their 
national  life."  "The  Swadeshi  movement  is  the  unfor- 
tunate excrescence  of  the  marvelous  growth  of  the  people 
in  the  consciousness  of  their  own  importance  and  in  their 
desire  for  higher  and  better  things."  Rev.  Herbert  Ander- 
son, from  whose  address  at  Calcutta  the  above  definitions 
are  taken,  puts  the  gist  of  them  into  this  concise  state- 
ment :  "  We  may  in  general  terms  affirm  that  a  patriotic 
impulse  is  the  ocean  bed  of  the  Swadeshi  movement,  its 
tides  manifesting  themselves  in  political,  social,  economic, 
and  religious  directions."^ 

2.  Its  Genesis  —  Japan's  Success. —  Tlie  causes  which 
have  led  to  this  recent  outburst  of  national  feeling  are 
many.  A  reason  often  given  is  that  it  is  the  resultant  of  a 
Pan-Asiatic  renaissance  in  which  the  brilliant  victories 
of  Japan  over  a  great  European  power  are  the  convincing 
proof  of  the  new  birth.  There  is  little  reason  to  deny 
that  "  Japan's  success  has  not  only  once  for  all  set  back 
the  tide  of  European  aggression  in  Asia,  but  has  besides 
taught  other  Asiatic  nations  the  material  and  moral  evils 

^Church    Missicrnry    Revierv,    DeceinNrr.     1007,    p.    728. 


272  INDIA   AND   CPIRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

of  foreign  dependence  and  the  priceless  value  of  self- 
respect  and  independence."^ 

Indian  and  African  Causes. —  Bishop  Macarthur,  for- 
merly of  Bombay,  holds  that  race  arrogance,  exhibited 
by  the  British  in  South  Africa  toward  Indians  there, 
"  has  put  a  most  powerful  weapon  in  the  hands  of  seditious 
agitators  and  has  excited  the  deepest  resentment  in  the 
minds  of  the  people  of  India."-  The  Bishop  mentions 
as  other  causes  of  unrest  the  ignorant  or  malicious 
charges  against  the  Government  that  famines  and  plagues 
are  due  to  British  rule  and  the  powerful  stimulus  coming 
from  the  partition  of  Bengal.  His  former  ex-officio  con- 
nection with  the  University  of  Bombay  leads  him  to 
attribute  great  weight  also  to  the  harmful  influence  of 
Indian  members  of  University  senates,  who  because  of 
Lord  Curzon's  Universities  Bill  of  1903  are  no  longer 
likely  to  receive  such  honors,  since  recognized  ability  in 
educational  affairs  rather  than  the  necessity  of  showing 
honor  to  prominent  Indians  is  now  the  basis  of  appoint- 
ment.^ 

A  widespread  grievance  of  the  more  intelligent  class, 
whose  education  has  been  acquired  almost  solely  in  order 
to  secure  government  positions,  is  that  after  qualifying 
themselves  for  service  they  find  nothing  to  do,  or  at 
least  that  all  the  most  lucrative  posts  are  held  by  men 
from  Great  Britain.  They  overlook  the  point  which  Pres- 
ident Zumbro  makes :  "  Far  and  away  the  largest  num- 
ber of  government  positions  are  held  by  the  people.  Out 
of  over  114,000  positions  carrying  a  salary  of  $300  or 
over  per  year,  ninety-seven  per  cent,  are  held  by  In- 
dians." ^ 

Mr.  Anderson  mentions  as  of  vast  importance  in  the 
origination   of   the   agitation    the   beneficent   rule   of   the 

^Church  Missionary   Review,    December,    1907,   P-    729- 
-The  East  and  the  West,  January,   1908,  p.  3. 

*  Ibid,  pp.   5-12. 

*  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  April,  1908,  p.  389, 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS   AND   OPPORTUNITIES  273 

British  which  has  raised  the  educational  standard  of  the 
people  and  placed  all  nationalities  on  a  footing  of  equality, 
thus  imparting  to  them  aspirations  after  national  inde- 
pendence.^ 

The  older  source  of  dissatisfaction,  namely,  the  annual 
sessions  of  the  National  Congress,  is  increasingly  re- 
sponsible for  the  growing  discontent.  While  the  split 
in  that  body  —  which  occurred  at  the  session  for  1907 
because  of  the  riot  and  anarchy  of  the  extremists  under 
Tilak  and  others  —  makes  this  source  of  agitation  uncer- 
tain in  the  future,  its  desire  for  increased  political  power 
even  on  the  conservative  side  may  be  seen  in  the  address 
—  published  but  not  delivered  —  of  its  proposed  Presi- 
dent, Dr.  R.  B.  Ghose.2 

3.  Harmful  Effects  of  the  Movement. —  So  far  as 
missionary  effort  is  concerned,  the  unrest  injuriously 
affects  missions  in  the  following  particulars :  It  prevents 
the  free  attendance  of  many  upon  Christian  churches  and 
schools,  this  in  Eastern  Bengal  especially;  it  brings  jeers 
and  ridicule,  mainly  from  students,  upon  street  and  bazar 
preachers;  English  Bible  classes  for  Hindus  and  lectures 
for  the  educated  have  suffered  greatly;  in  a  few  cases 
mission  property  has  been  destroyed,  missionaries  have 
been  insulted,  ladies  have  had  mud  thrown  at  them,  and 
in  two  or  three  instances  murderous  attacks  have  been 
made  upon  the  workers ;  sales  of  Christian  literature  have 
fallen  off  greatly;  and  Christianity  is  more  than  ever 
regarded  as  a  foreign  religion,  while  its  adherents  are 
treated  as  non-Swadeshi.  A  natural  consequence  is  the 
renewed  cry  of  Neo-Hinduism  and  the  Samajes,  "  Back' 
to  the  Vedas !"  and  new  vigor  in  votaries  of  the  old  faith. 
It  should  be  added  that  the  greatest  intensity  of  this  oppo- 
sition is  felt  in  the  Punjab  and  in  Bengal;  also  that  it  is 
constantly  diminishing  in  virulence. 

*  Church  Missionary  Review,  p.  729. 

2  See  especially  pages  6-15  of  his  Presidential  Address, 


274  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

4.  The  Missionary's  Attitude— What  attitude  ought 
the  missionaries  to  maintain  toward  this  tide  of  national- 
ism? In  some  respects  it  should  be  encouraged.  The 
new  spirit  of  independence  may  be  made  operative  in  the 
direction  of  a  larger  measure  of  self-support  and  self- 
propagation  on  the  part  of  the  native  Church.  ,It  may 
be  made  to  minister  to  self-government  in  certain  ad- 
vanced churches  which  are  competent  to  enter  on  that 
stage  and  whose  polity  does  not  forbid  such  a  step.  In 
its  wider  aspects  Rev.  J.  Mathers  makes  the  following 
suggestions:  "As  on  the  one  hand  God  is  by  a  great 
variety  of  agencies  and  in  many  directions  calling  the 
people  of  this  land  into  a  life  of  larger  liberty  and  of 
truth,  so  by  these  very  signs  He  is  summoning  us  mis- 
sionaries to  adopt  a  wider  vision  of  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
to  become  apostles  of  progress  in  this  land  and  identify 
ourselves  with  the  people's  cause,  to  become  mediators  in 
*  making  the  old  to  run  smoothly  with  the  new.'  .  .  . 
To  the  people  of  this  land  we  have  to  make  known  our 
sympathy  and  readiness  to  cooperate  with  them  in  the 
cause  of  progress.  Never  before  has  there  been  such  an 
opportunity  of  social  intercourse  and  frank  interchange  of 
thought  as  at  the  present  time.  Indians  want  our  sym- 
pathy, and,  assured  of  that,  they  are  ready  to  admit  us  to 
their  confidence  and  to  share  hopes  and  fears  with  us. 
Every  link  of  friendship  of  this  nature  that  we  form  may 
become  a  channel  of  spiritual  and  moral  truth  to  our 
associates  and  may  serve  to  bring  their  hopes  and  ambi- 
tions more  into  touch  with  Christ.  .  .  .  And  this 
simply  means  that  we  must  ourselves  become  Indians 
first  —  Indians  in  love  of  this  country  and  in  passionate 
desire  for  its  advancement,  Indians  in  the  knowledge  of 
its  history  and  religion  and  in  truest  sympathy  with  all 
'that  is  noble  therein;  and  Indians,  too,  in  sorrow  and 
pain  because  of  all  that  is  unworthy  and  degrading  and 
sinful  in  its  life,  and   in   readiness  to  give   ourselves  in 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS    AND   OPPORTUNITIES  275 

sharing  these  sorrows  and  efforts  to  remove  evil."  ^  Mr. 
Anderson  adds  this  helpful  hint :  "  And  may  I  not  fur- 
ther suggest  that  at  least  once  a  month  the  privacy  of 
our  own  home  life  be  opened  for  social  fellowship  for 
those  who  otherwise  would  never  get  into  touch?  You 
will  be  surprised  how  many  Indians  will  gladly  accept 
an  invitation  to  dine,  if  they  know  it  is  a  sincere  effort 
on  your  part  to  cultivate  for  yourself  and  others  a  friend- 
ship between  East  and  West  little  known  at  the  present 
day."2  The  author  can  testify  from  the  delightful  fel- 
lowship had  with  a  number  of  prominent  non-Christian 
Indians  at  Mr.  Anderson's  Calcutta  home  that  such  a 
plan  is  most  commendable   in  every  way, 

11.     New  International  Contact 

I.  Japanese  Influence  —  Indian  Students  in  Japan. — 
As  a  natural  result  of  Japan's  victories,  her  prestige  in  the 
Orient  has  become  paramount.  A  considerable  number 
of  Indian  students  accordingly  have  gone  thither  in  order 
to  secure  an  education  which  will  fit  them  for  industrial 
and  political  leadership  at  home.  In  not  a  few  cases  dis- 
appointment has  resulted  from  the  fact  that  they  did  not 
find  there  as  large  a  mechanical  development  as  had  been 
hoped  for  and  hence  could  not  obtain  adequate  oppor- 
tunity for  actual  training  in  their  chosen  lines.  Most  of 
those  who  studied  in  that  Empire  were  recommended  to 
the  Young  IMen's  Christian  Association  and  so  were 
shielded  from  the  manifold  temptations  which  in  so  many 
cases  proved  the  physical  and  moral  ruin  of  many  Chinese 
students. 

Visit  of  Japanese  Christians. —  A  wider  influence  came 
to  Christians  of  India  through  the  visit  of  Dr.  Motoda 
and  Mr.  Harada  in  1906.     With  great  wisdom  they  told 

^The  Harvest  Field,   March,    1908,   pp.    108,    no. 

*  Church   Missionary   Reviezv,    December,    1907,   p.    734. 


2^6  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OrrORTUNITV 

the  story  of  Japan's  recent  progress,  and  of  the  growth 
of  Christianity,  particularly  among  the  higher  classes, 
in  that  Empire.  Its  history  they  used  as  a  stimulus  to 
the  Indian  Church  to  become  active  propagandists  and 
to  advance  to  a  position  of  independence,  instead  of  re- 
maining beneficiaries  of  missionary  societies,  with  no  de- 
sire to  make  the  Church  indigenous.  A  paragraph  of 
Dr.  Motoda's  farewell  message  will  suggest  their  line  of 
approach :  "  There  are  some  lessons  which  we  can  take 
home  to  Japan  to  tell  our  people.  There  must  also  be 
lessons  to  you  from  Japan.  One  lesson  will  be  that  we, 
being  the  Christians  of  the  first  generation,  are  all  active. 
Then  another  lesson  will  be  that  we  are  doing  something 
always ;  we  are  doing  something  for  our  country,  for  our 
townspeople,  for  our  families,  relations  and  friends. 
These  two  are  the  lessons  which  we  can  give  to  you,  and 
what  you  can  give  us  will  be  that,  being  older  Christians, 
you  know  more  about  the  Bible,  you  know  more  about 
church  matters  and  you  have  sacrificed  a  great  deal 
more  than  we  have;  at  least  your  forefathers  did  sac- 
rifice a  great  deal  in  order  to  become  Christians.  That 
is  a  stimulating  lesson  to  our  people.  Let  us  not  become 
easy-going  Christians,  or  historical  Christians,  but  let 
us  always  be  active,  always  doing  something,  always 
praying,  always  communicating  with  God,  and  always 
like  Christ  in  what  we  do."^ 

Indian  Delegates  in  Tokyo. —  Perhaps  quite  as  marked 
an  influence  came  from  the  visit  of  a  dozen  representa- 
tive Indians,  delegates  to  the  World's  Student  Christian 
Federation  Conference,  convened  at  Tokyo  in  April,  1907. 
Mr.  G.  S.  Eddy,  one  of  the  delegates  from  India,  sum- 
marizes impressions,  which  were  shared  by  the  native  rep- 
resentatives, in  these  words :  **  The  first  lesson  which  In- 
dia needs  to  learn  from  Japan  is  that  of  patriotism.  .  .  . 
A  second  lesson  is  that  success  is  not  to  be  won  easily  nor 

^The  Indian  Witness,  May  31,   1906,  p.  341. 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS   AND   OPPOKTUNITIES  2/7 

in  a  moment,  but  only  by  a  long  and  painful  preparation 
in  order  that  the  people  may  become  capable  of  enjoying 
true  freedom.  Many  reforms  were  needed  in  Japan  be- 
fore she  attained  her  sudden  preeminence.  There  was  the 
introduction  of  education,  the  elevation  of  womanhood, 
the  breaking  down  of  all  social  barriers,  and  the  uplift- 
ing of  the  lowest  outcasts  to  the  full  privilege  of  citizen- 
ship, and  many  others  of  a  like  kind.  This  is  the  crying 
need  of  India  to-day.  .  .  .  Another  lesson  that  India 
has  much  need  to  learn  from  Japan  is  that  of  the  equality 
of  all  men  within  the  state.  .  .  .  Japan  to-day  would 
never  be  in  the  forefront  of  the  civilized  nations,  nor 
could  she  have  won  in  the  war  with  Russia,  nor  in  peaceful 
competition  with  other  nations,  if  she  had  been  a  caste- 
ridden  and  divided  nation.  .  .  .  The  same  is  true  of 
India's  treatment  of  women.  How  much  India  has  to 
learn  from  Japan  in  this  respect  may  be  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  there  more  than  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  girls 
of  school-going  age  are  in  primary  schools,  while  in 
India  only  seven  women  out  of  every  thousand  can  read 
and  write.  Religious  liberty  is  yet  another  lesson  which 
India  sorely  needs  to  learn  from  Japan.  With  an  en- 
lightened sovereign  and  an  educated  people,  Japan  has 
proclaimed  liberty  of  conscience  and  religious  toleration. 
Every  man  is  permitted  to  worship  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  his  own  conscience.  If  any  man  wishes  to 
change  his  religion,  he  is  not  persecuted  nor  put  out  of 
his  caste, —  for  there  is  no  caste  in  Japan  to  put  him  out 
of, —  but  as  an  intelligent  man  he  is  allowed  to  choose 
for  himself,  as  among  the  nations  of  the  West.  .  .  . 
Let  us  not  be  left  out  of  the  stream  of  progress.  Let  us 
learn  the  open-mindedness  of  Japan.  Let  us  prove  all 
things,  and  let  us  hold  fast  that  which  is  good, —  retain- 
ing only  that  which  is  best  in  the  past  and  receiving  the 
good  and  the  true  from  every  source, —  old  or  new,  in- 
digenous or  foreign.     The  awakening  of  Asia  brings  to 


2^S  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPOUTUNITY 

US  a  message  and  calls  us  to  our  responsibility   for  the 
awakening  of   India."^ 

2.  Contact  with  the  Occident. —  This  has  been  mainly 
in  Great  Britain  and  tlie  United  States,  though  the  coolie 
class  has  been  large  in  South  Africa,  the  West  Indies 
and  British  Columbia.  They  have  mostly  come  to  the  two 
former  countries  for  educational  reasons,  which  means 
that  influential  Indians  are  among  us.  A  mere  handful 
have  also  come  with  the  special  object  of  promoting  the 
interests  of  a  reformed  Hinduism,  or  Vedantism.  Rev. 
G.  T.  Manley  overstates  an  important  truth  when  he 
writes :  "  It  is  difficult  to  overestimate  the  value  of 
the  Indian  students  who  come  to  the  Occident  for  their 
education.  Probably  never  in  the  history  of  man  has 
so  great  an  amount  of  power  for  good  or  evil  been  thus 
concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  well-defined,  compact,  and 
easily  reached  community.  ...  In  London  there  are 
estimated  to  be  between  200  and  400  Indian  students, 
mainly  studying  for  the  bar,  but  also  for  the  civil  and 
medical  service;  some  eighty  students  are  at  Cambridge, 
and  smaller  numbers  are  in  Edinburgh,  Oxford  and 
other  collegiate  centers  pursuing  similar  studies.  Upon 
the  Continent  of  Europe  the  numbers  are  very  much 
smaller  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  English  language, 
.  .  .  and  the  majority  of  them  have  previously  studied 
in  Great  Britain.  There  are  about  120  Indian  students 
in  the  United  States,  where  they  go  chiefly  for  industrial 
education.  The  number  of  these  students  is  increasing 
steadily  each  year,  especially  the  number  of  those  coming 
to  study  engineering  and  other  industrial  pursuits.  As- 
sociations are  being  rapidly  formed  in  India  to  promote 
commercial  and  industrial  progress,  and  even  in  Benares 
an  Indian  Students'  Aid  Association  lias  just  been  formed 
to  enable  students  to  go  to  foreign  lands  to  receive  educa- 

^The   Indian   Inter i^reter,   October,    1907,   pp.    1 16-120. 


RECENT   MOVEMENTS   AND   OPPORTUNITIES  2^9 

tion  in  the  arts  and  industries."^  As  these  men  are  from 
the  Indian  point  of  view  the  most  credible  witnesses  of 
the  actual  state  of  life  and  morality  in  Christian  coun- 
tries, it  will  mean  much  to  that  Empire  if  in  every  centef 
where  they  are  found,  plans  like  those  of  the  London 
Committee  can  be  adopted  and  carried  out.  These  are 
mainly  sockal  and  personal  in  character,  with  an  emphasis 
of  Christian  friendliness  during  the  first  month  in  an 
Occidental  country.  An  Indian  gentleman  who  has  been 
instrumental  in  sending  many  young  men  to  America, 
has  stated  that  they  had  bitterly  complained  of  being 
cal'ed  "  niggers  "  and  of  industrial  discrimination  against 
them  here.  This  should  be  compensated  for  by  special 
efforts  put  forth  by  fellow  students  and  by  other  Christians 
who  could  easily  be  enlisted  in  the  cause,  were  the  facts 
made  known. 

III.    Recent  Awakenings 

I.  Contrihuting  Causes  —  Annual  Day  of  Prayer. — 
While  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  and  goes  when  and  whither 
He  wills,  the  human  factor  is  an  important  one  to-day, 
just  as  it  was  at  the  first  Pentecost.  One  of  the  antece- 
dent facts  that  doubtless  had  much  to  do  with  the  great 
revival  which  began  in  1905  was  the  suggestion  of  a  Day 
of  Prayer  for  the  awakening  of  India,  made  by  the 
leaders  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  of  India  and 
Ceylon  in  December,  1897.  Of  this  Rev.  R.  J.  Ward  of 
Madras  writes :  "  That  day  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history 
of  Christian  missions  in  this  land.  It  was  not  only  that 
here  and  there  in  other  parts  of  the  world  men  and  women 
got  close  hold  of  God  in  mighty  prayer,  but  there  are 
those  who  from  that  day  have  prayed  more  and  with 
greater  persistence  and  fervor  than  they  ever  did  before."^ 
Another   day   was   appointed   for   the    following   August, 

>  The  Student   World,   July,    1908,   pp.   86-90. 
'  Dyer,  Revival  in  India,  pp.  28,  29. 


2S0  IXDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

which  thereafter  became  an  annual  observance,  and  as  a 
result  of  this  united  prayer,  circles  for  supplication  were 
established  in  1902  and  a  Prayer  Circular  was  issued 
monthly  in  that  interest. 

Piindita  Ramabai's  Efforts. —  Meanwhile  Pundita  Rama- 
bai,  on  her  way  back  from  America,  attended  the  Keswick 
Convention  of  1898.  "  My  heart,"  she  says,  "  was  filled 
with  joy  to  see  nearly  4,000  Christian  people  gathered 
together  seeking  and  finding  the  deep  things  of  God. 
.  .  .  Five  minutes  were  given  me  to  speak,  and  I 
made  the  very  best  use  of  them.  I  requested  God's  peo- 
ple to  pray  that  100,000  men  and  100,000  women  from 
among  the  Indian  Christians  may  be  led  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  their  country  people."  This  thought  fully  pos- 
sessed her  during  the  remainder  of  the  voyage,  so  that  on 
her  arrival  in  India  she  wrote  a  letter  to  a  Bombay  paper 
in  which  she  said:  "The  Holy  Spirit  has  convinced  me 
that  a  great  duty  rests  upon  the  natives  of  this  country. 
The  foreign  missionaries  have  done  a  hundred  years* 
faithful  work,  and  the  Lord  has  blessed  their  labors  with 
nearly  a  million  converts  and  their  children.  Christian 
Indians  are  to  be  found  in  nearly  every  part  of  the 
country  and  know  all  the  languages  spoken  in  it.  We, 
the  Christian  sons  and  daughters  of  this  land,  ought  to 
feel  it  our  bounden  duty  to  give  the  Gospel  freely  to  our 
brethren.  But  this  feeling  will  never  come  unless  a 
mighty  flood  of  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  upon  us.  .  .  . 
It  is  an  easy  matter  with  God  to  give  us  200,000  evan- 
gelists; and  if  it  seems  impossible  to  us,  then  let  us 
honor  God  by  believing  that  He  changes  not  and  is  as 
able  to  perform  a  miracle  to-day  as  He  was  2,000  years 
ago."^  Subsequently,  when  the  revival  in  Australia  oc- 
curred, she  sent  her  daughter  and  another  worker  thither 
to  catch  its  inspiration  and  to  request  prayer  for  India. 

*Dyer,  Revival  in  India,  pp.  41,  43, 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS    AND   OPPORTUNITIES  28I 

Still  later  came  the  formation  of  prayer  circles,  each  of 
which  prayed  for  ten  of  her  students,  the  publication  of 
the  Mukti  Prayer  Bell,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
"  prayer  tower "  from  which  prayer  has  ascended  night 
and  day  for  years,  the  workers  taking  the  vigil  in  turn, 
hour  by  hour.  News  of  the  revival  in  Wales  greatly 
quickened  Pundita  Ramabai's  girls  and  women  in  January, 
1905,  and  she  called  for  volunteers  to  meet  daily  with 
her  for  supplication  for  a  similar  revival  in  India.  And 
what  was  true  at  Ramabai's  institution  is  typical  of  what 
was  occurring  on  a  smaller  scale  elsewhere,  especially 
throughout  the  Khassia  Hills,  where  the  first  outpouring 
of  any  magnitude  occurred  on  March  5,  1905. 

2.  Extent  of  the  Movement. —  Beginning  in  the  hills 
of  Assam,  the  wave  of  revival  spread  to  Ramabai's  school 
at  Kcdgaon  —  also  known  as  ]\lukti  —  in  Western  India; 
thence  it  surged  into  surrounding  towns  in  the  Maratha 
country,  and  later  it  broke  out  almost  simultaneously  in 
many  places  which  had  no  other  connection  with  revival 
centers  except  that  "  of  expectation,  preparedness,  and 
fellowship  in  prayer.  .  .  .  The  widest  sweep  of  coun- 
try as  yet  [1907]  affected  by  the  revival  is  that  in  which 
the  Telugu  language  is  spoken  in  South  India."^  No 
great  section  of  the  Empire  has  remained  unblessed,  nor 
has  any  important  society  failed  to  feel  its  inspiration 
and  uplift. 

3.  ''Manifestations"  Attending  the  Awakening  — 
Specified. —  Tltfese  have  been  a  stumbling-block  to  many 
and  an  occasion  of  criticism  to  still  more  of  the  mission- 
aries, though  almost  without  exception  all  have  thanked 
God  for  the  spiritual  results  of  the  movement.  They  do 
not  differ  materially  from  the  accompaniments  of  great 
religious  excitement  and  fervor  in  other  lands,  especially 
when  masses  of  a  lower  grade  of  culture  have  been 
strongly  moved.     Among   them   are   visional    illusions   of 

^Dyer,  Revival  in  India,  p.  30. 


282  INDIA'  AND  CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

various  sorts,  such  as  seeing  a  girl  on  fire  or  a  group  witlt 
fire  on  their  heads,  hysterical  wailing,  laughter,  and 
trembling,  visions  of  the  Savior,  of  an  intensely  vivid 
and  moving  sort,  healing  of  disease  and  the  driving  out  of 
demons,  sounds  as  of  a  rushing  wind,  feeling  of  inward 
burning,  writhing  in  agony  and  rolling  on  the  earth, 
"  speaking  with  tongues,"  the  composition  of  "  angel 
hymns,"  dictated  by  girls  in  a  trance  and  taken  down 
and  sung  by  the  people  afterwards,  and  "  prayer  storms," 
in  which  hundreds  in  a  meeting  pray  aloud  simultaneously, 
often  with  shoutings  and  hand  clappings. 

A  Medical  Authority's  Viezv. —  Dr.  Schofield  of  Lon- 
don, an  old  student  of  nervous  and  mental  phenomena, 
after  reading  a  full  account  of  the  revivals,  says  of  these 
manifestations :  "  Taking  into  consideration  the  remark- 
able fact  that  it  is  the  story  of  a  direct  action  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  upon  a  heathen  people  of  the  Far  East, 
deeply  imbued  with  demon  worship,  incantations  and 
prodigies  of  all  sorts,  the  first  point  that  strikes  me  is  the 
decided  sobriety  of  the  narration:  as  well  marked,  in- 
deed, as  that  which  describes  the  early  years  of  our  Lord 
in  the  Gospels,  when  compared  with  the  weird,  sensa- 
tional and  unnatural  stories  that  abound  in  the  apocryphal 
narratives  of  His  childhood.  .  .  .  We  cannot  expect 
an  abnormal  inrush  of  divine  light  and  power,  so  pro- 
foundly affecting  the  emotions  and  changing  the  lives  of 
men,  without  remarkable  results.  .  .  .  Let  us  re- 
member in  considering  these,  that  in  India  at  least  they 
are  commonplaces;  that  in  English  revivals  they  also 
occur;  and  that  above  all  they  are  not  the  abnormalities 
and  the  marvels  of  the  movement  at  all.  These  consist  in 
changed  hearts  and  lives,  in  men  and  women  transformed 
from  darkness  to  light  in  a  moment;  and  the  very  prac- 
tical demonstration  of  this  by  the  payment  of  old  debts, 
by  loving  their  neighbors,  by  an  entire  alteration  of  life* 


RECENT   MOVEMENTS   AND  OPPORTUNITIES  283 

Without  these  real  wonders  the  cries  and  visions  and 
dreams  would  attract  little  notice."^ 

Regulating  the  "Manifestations." — In  endeavoring  to 
regulate  these,  not  a  few  missionaries  had  an  experience 
akin  to  Ramabai's.  **  I  tried,"  she  says,  "  to  lay  down 
some  rules  for  God's  work  at  the  beginning  of  the  revival 
at  Mukti.  But  I  soon  found  that  I  stopped  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  by  interfering  with  it.  I  wanted  to  be 
proper  and  conduct  the  meetings  in  our  old  civilised  way. 
But  God  would  none  of  it.  He  laid  His  hand  on 
me,  put  me  low  in  the  dust,  and  told  me  that  I  had  better 
take  my  proper  place,  that  of  a  worm.  He  said,  *  My 
thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways 
my  ways.*  I  humbled  myself  under  this  severe  rebuke 
and  took  my  hand  off  the  work.  The  Holy  Spirit  has  full 
liberty  to  work  in  us,  and  He  takes  charge  of  the  revival 
meetings  at  Mukti."^ 

4.  Results  of  the  Awakenings  —  First  Things  Placed 
First. —  Never  has  India  seen  such  deep  conviction  of 
sin  and  such  sincere  and  humbling  confessions  as  this 
revival  period  has  witnessed.  Never  have  seekers  after 
God  in  that  Empire  given  themselves  so  earnestly  to  the 
quest  for  spiritual  power.  Meetings  lasting  for  twenty 
hours  a  day  and  seasons  of  prayer  extending  through 
large  parts  of  the  night,  with  still  longer  periods  spent 
in  agonized  wrestlings  by  individuals,  are  indications  of 
unusual  spiritual  hunger  and  earnestness.  The  giving 
up  of  school  work  for  days  together,  that  the  pupils 
might  have  uninterrupted  time  for  religious  meetings, 
has  also  been  unusual.  These  and  other  items  have  given 
the  Church  in  India  the  undying  conviction  that  when 
first  things  are  really  placed  first,  blessing  inevitably  fol- 
lows.    Discouraged  missionaries  have  seen  so  many  and 

*Dyer,   Kevival   in   India,    pp.    9-12. 
'  Dyer,  Revival  in  India,  p.  55. 


284  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

such  manifest  miracles  of  grace  that  they  can  never  again 
doubt  the  power  and  wilhngness  of  God  to  be  a  coworker 
with  them  in  the  task  of  India's  evangeHzation. 

Prayer  as  a  Mode  of  Work. —  The  awakening  has  also 
proved  that  prayer  as  a  form  of  work  must  be  more 
than  ever  emphasized.  Praying  bands  have  come  into 
prominence.  Miss  Soonderbai  Powar  of  Poona  testifies 
thus :  "  This  new  way  of  prayer  has  set  on  foot  a  new 
way  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen.  We  have 
thus  far  believed  that  we  had  to  speak  to  convince  those 
who  listen  to  us,  and  thus  we  have  been  depending  much 
on  our  own  means  and  ways.  But  now  it  is  my  expe- 
rience, and  that  of  others  who  have  toiled  for  years,  that 
it  is  through  prayer  that  hearts  are  reached.  My  bible- 
women  as  they  go  out  to  villages  to  preach  now,  pray 
more  with  those  whose  souls'  salvation  they  seek  and 
speak  much  less  than  before."^ 

Activities  of  Quickened  Lives. —  Though  the  revivals 
have  been  commonest  in  mission  institutions  and  have 
thus  influenced  the  most  strategic  element  in  the  future 
Church,  few  non-Christians  have  thus  far  been  brought 
into  the  Church  because  of  it.  In  the  Assam  Hills,  how- 
ever, between  7,000  and  8,000  have  been  won,-  and  every- 
where unbelievers  are  moved  by  the  changed  lives  of 
the  quickened  Christians.  A  great  many  who  have  re- 
ceived a  new  blessing  have  gone  out  singly  or  in  bands 
to  evangelize  their  neighbors.  This  is  particularly  true 
of  the  pupils  of  Pundita  Ramabai's  institution.  All 
Christians  in  the  revival  districts  show  a  new  desire  for 
Bible  study  and  for  meetings  for  prayer  and  Bible  expo- 
sition. In  the  matter  of  giving,  the  Khassia  Hills  Chris- 
tians alone,  and  in  a  time  of  great  scarcity  amounting 
almost  to  famine,  subscribed  nearly  $4,000  to  the  revival 
thankoffering  fund. 

^  Dyer,  Revival   in  India,   p.    57. 

^  The   Hfirvest   Field,    March,    1907,    p.    116. 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS   AND   OPPOKT UNITIES  28 


In  a  word,  the  whole  outlook  in  India  has  been  changed 
by  the  new  consciousness  of  sin  and  of  God  which  has 
come  to  the  Church,  and  consequently  everywhere  mis- 
sionaries are  hopeful  to  an  extent  unknown  before.^  And 
the  rising  of  this  tide  of  spirituality  gives  new  emphasis 
to  their  call  for  reinforcements.  F'rom  many  quarters  of 
India  comes  the  cry  that  the  present  missionary  force  is 
pitifully  inadequate  to  grasp  the  opportunity  which  is  thus 
presented. 

IV.    Union  Movements 

I.  Tlic  National  Missionary  Society  of  India  —  Its 
Origin. —  Among  recent  union  movements  among  Chris- 
tians of  the  Empire,  this  is  from  many  points  of  view 
the  most  promising.  Established  at  Serampore  on 
Christmas  Day,  1905,  this  organization  of  representative 
men  from  each  pro\tince  and  portion  of  India,  Burma, 
and  Ceylon  unites  Christians  of  all  churches  and  provinces 
into  one  great  society  for  the  evangelization  of  unoc- 
cupied fields  in  India  and  adjacent  lands.  In  the  story 
of  its  establishment  we  read :  "  While  the  sessions  of 
the  conference  were  held  in  the  great  library  where 
William  Carey  labored,  the  constitution  of  the  new  So- 
ciety was  adopted  in  the  old  pagoda  where  Henry  Martyn 
worked  and  prayed  for  the  evangelization  of  this  land. 
\\'ith  Indian  men,  Indian  money,  and  Indian  management, 
the  Society  is  controlled  by  a  central  executive  commit- 
tee and  a  national  council,  with  representatives  from  each 
presidency  and  each  larger  mission  or  Christian  body 
in  a  province,  and  is  aided  by  the  counsel  of  an  advisory 
board  of  experienced  missionaries.  Founding  no  new 
denomination,  but  preserving  the  strongest  loyalty  to 
the  churches,  soliciting  no  funds  outside  of  India,  but 
laying  the  burden  of  India's  evangelization  upon  her  own 
sons,  we  believe  the  Society  is  organized  on  a  sound  and 

^  Dyer,  Revival  in  India,  p.   152. 


286  INDIA   AND   CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

safe  basis.  Only  after  months  of  careful  planning  and 
after  securing  the  approval  of  hundreds  of  representative 
Indians  and  European  missionaries  in  every  part  of  the 
Empire  has  this  important  step  been  taken."^ 

Its  Task. —  The  task  of  the  Society  is  to  care  for  the 
100,000,000  unevangelized  v^^hom  they  calculate  the  exist- 
ing missionary  societies  can  not  reach.  To  awaken  the 
native  churches  to  see  their  responsibility  and  to  be  will- 
ing to  meet  it  has  thus  far  been  their  main  work.  Only 
in  October,  1907,  did  they  send  to  the  Montgomery  Dis- 
trict of  the  Punjab  their  first  missionary.  While  thus 
far  the  Society  is  not  doing  as  much  direct  work  as  its 
prototype,  the  local  Indian  Missionary  Society  of  Tin- 
nevelly,  which  began  in  1903  and  was  employing  eight 
workers  in  1907,  the  success  of  that  movement,  cared  for 
by  the  native  Christians  of  only  one  Church,  is  prophetic 
of  what  will  surely  soon  be  done  on  a  far  larger  scale 
by  this  union  movement  of  all  Christians  in  the  Empire. 
Rightly  does  the  editor  of  the  Church  Missionary  Review 
say:  "These  movements  are  the  very  brightest  symp- 
toms of  the  rising  national  spirit  in  India  and  may  well 
evoke  both  prayer  and  thanksgiving."- 

2.  Church  Unions — Those  Actually  Effected. —  Tlie 
missionary  societies  are  also  moving  in  the  direction  of 
union  and  cooperation.  The  pamphlet  of  Mr.  J.  T.  Mac- 
lagan  on  the  subject  of  Presbyterian  union,  written  in 
1863,  may  be  said  to  have  begun  the  movement.  Later 
discussion  led  in  1872  to  the  first  convention  of  eight 
bodies  of  the  Presbyterian  fam.ily.  Subsequent  meetings 
of  this  Alliance  were  irregular,  and  at  its  eighth  session 
in  December,  1904,  the  Presbyterian  Alliance  was  merged 
into  the  first  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  India.  This  union  was  not  complete,  since 
only  six  of  the  ten  Presbyterian  bodies  then  v/orking  in 

^  Young   Men   of  India,    January,    1906,   p.    I. 
'See   the  January,    1907,   issue,   p.   62. 


RECENT   MOVEMENTS  AND  OPPORTUNITIES  2S7 

the  Empire  were  included  within  it.  The  South  India 
Synod,  itself  composed  of  the  United  Free  Church  of 
Scotland  and  the  American  Dutch  Reformed  Mission 
which  had  united  in  1902,  had  reserved  to  itself  the  right 
to  withdraw  whenever  it  should  be  possible  to  form  a 
broader  union  in  South  India.  The  time  seemed  to  be 
ripe  for  a  union  with,  the  Congregational  missions  there 
at  the  close  of  1907;  hence  they  withdrew  to  form  the 
South  India  United  Church,  composed  of  themselves  and 
the  American  Board  and  London  Missions  which  in  1905 
had  established  the  United  Churches  of  South  India  and 
Ceylon.  The  Wesleyan  Provincial  Synod  in  1908  was 
considering  uniting  with  this  body  also. 

Further  Agitation. —  Aside  from  the  union  of  those 
forces  which  have  just  been  mentioned,  other  churches 
are  strongly  urging  the  matter.  Thus  the  Baptists  in 
their  1907  Triennial  fconference  voted :  "  That  this  Con- 
ference heartily  approve  of  the  proposed  congress  of 
representatives  of  the  Baptist  bodies  in  India,  Burma, 
and  Ceylon,  and  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  Mission,  hav- 
ing for  its  object  denominational  union."^  The  Presby- 
terians of  Western  India  and  the  American  Board  Mis- 
sion in  that  section  are  negotiating  a  union,  while  in  Jan- 
uary, 1908,  an  All-India  Lutheran  Conference  was  held 
for  the  first  time,  thus  bringing  together  nine  different 
Lutheran  missions.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  future 
union  proposals  the  action  of  the  Presbyterian  General 
Assembly  of  1906,  relative  to  the  appointment  of  a  union 
committee  consisting  almost  solely  of  Indian  members, 
may  be  acted  upon.  Thus  there  would  be  at  least  an 
attempt  to  realize  the  Assembly's  Preamble :  "  Recogniz- 
ing that  our  aim  is  to  secure  a  united  indigenous  Church 
of  Indian  Christians,  rather  than  one  of  foreign  mis- 
sionaries with  its  peculiarly  Western  characteristics,  we 

1  The  Hardest  Field,   January.    1908,   p.    29. 


288  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OFPORTUNITY 

feel  it  to  be  of  supreme  importance  that  the  Indian 
brethren  as  far  as  possible  should  be  responsible  for  its 
development,  that  the  future  Church  may  grow  in  har- 
mony with  Oriental  rather  than  Occidental  ideas."  ^ 

3.  Some  Advantages  of  Union. —  Already  the  value  of 
union  has  become  evident.  The  South  India  United 
Church  alone  brings  into  a  single  organic  body  six  mis- 
sions with  a  total  constituency  of  about  150,000  Chris- 
tions.  It  has  eventuated  in  the  publication  of  joint  peri- 
odicals, cooperation  in  theological  training  and  a  far 
stronger  plan  for  a  union  theological  seminary  to  be 
establisheld  shortly  in  Bangalore,  a  united  school  for 
normal  instruction,  the  maintenance  of  a  widows'  aid 
society,  the  holding  of  union  conferences  for  workers, 
and  a  new  impetus  toward  self-support  and  self-govern- 
ment.^  "  This  movement  will,  moreover,  quicken  the  pace 
of  the  Church  in  its  progress  toward  a  national  and  uni- 
versal consciousness.  This  tendency  is  manifested  to- 
day; but  it  needs  to  be  accelerated  so  that  the  Indian 
Church  may  speedily  come  to  a  consciousness  of  its  All- 
India  destiny,  when  the  prayers,  the  love,  and  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  united  Church  of  God  will  enfold  every 
hamlet  and  every  soul  in  the  land."^  Above  all  other  ad- 
vantages, perhaps,  will  be  the  convincing  object-lesson  of 
Christian  unity  which  can  not  fail  to  have  an  effect 
upon  non-Christian  Hindus  such  as  Jesus  suggested  in 
His  prayer,  that  believers  might  all  be  one. 

V.     Two  Mooted  Questions 

)  I.  The  Masses  vs.  the  Higher  Classes  —  The  Cose 
Stated. —  The  question  which  Dr.  Whitehead,  the  Angli- 
can Bishop  of  Madras,  has  again  brought  to  the  front  on 

1  The  Harvest  Field,   January,    1908,   p.    30. 

'  The  Second  General  Assembly  of  the  United  Churches  of  South 
India  and  Ceylon.  July,   1907,   pp.   i,  6. 

*  The  Harvest  Field,  November,    1907,  p.  431. 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS   AND   OPPORTUNITIES  289 

the  platform  and  in  influential  periodicals,  such  as  The 
East  and  the  West  and  The  Guardian,  is  one  which  will 
long  remain  perennial.  His  main  contentions  are  thus 
summarized  by  Principal  Pittendrigh  of  the  Madras 
Christian  College:  "(^)  The  main  energies  of  our 
Christian  missionary  societies  are  directed  toward  the 
evangelization  of  the  higher  classes.  (2)  Our  efforts 
among  these  classes  have  resulted  in  failure,  so  far  as  the 
building  up  of  the  Christian  Church  is  concerned.  (3) 
In  consequence  of  this  failure,  our  forces  should  grad- 
ually be  transferred  to  work  among  the  lower  classes.^ 

Replies. —  Tlie  Bishop  stands  nearly  alone  in  the  present 
discussion  of  the  problem,  with  many  of  the  strong  mis- 
sionaries against  his  position.  Sample  replies,  dealing 
with  the  subject  in  detail,  are  found  in  Principal  Pitten- 
drigh's  discussion,  juA  alluded  to,  and  in  the  symposium 
participated  in  by  tw^enty-six  missionaries  belonging  to 
eighteen  missions  and  printed  in  the  December,  1907, 
issue  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Review.  Only  one  of 
the  twenty-six,  Principal  Sharrock  of  the  Anglican  Col- 
lege at  Trichinopoly,  agrees  with  the  Bishop  that  efforts 
to  win  the  higher  castes  should  not  at  the  present  time 
be  increased,  but  that  all  available  resources  should  be 
concentrated  on  the  low  castes  who  are  so  ready  to  be 
brought  into  the  Church.  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Shar- 
rock insists  on  other  considerations  also:  "(i)  That 
caste  is  the  citadel  of  Hinduism,  and  the  taking  of  the 
outposts  will  not  appreciably  affect  its  power  of  resist- 
ance; (2)  that  schools  are  the  only  way  by  which  mis- 
sionaries can  get  access  to  Hindus  of  the  higher  castes ; 
(3)  that  while  the  converts  have  been  few,  a  leavening 
effect  of  the  greatest  importance  has  been  produced;  (4) 
that  the  few  converts  have  been,  and  are,  the  leaders 
of  the  Christian  Church  in  India;  (5)   that  more  of  such 

^The   Harvest  Field,   May,    1908,    p.    165;    sec    also    Whitehead,    Our 
Mission  Policy  in  India,  pp.  xii.,  6,  30,   36, 


290  INDIA   AND    CHRISTIAN    OPrORTUNITY 

leaders  is  the  imperative  need  of  the  Church,  if  it  is  to 
get  out  of  leading  strings;  (6)  that  work  among  the 
Pariahs  is  far  from  easy,  if  it  is  to  be  of  any  lasting 
value;  and  (7)  that  it  is  not  desirable  that  Christianity 
should  be  identified  in  India  with  the  Pariah  classes,  as 
it  would  be  but  for  the  work  of  missionary  schools  and 
colleges."^  'A  significant  sentence  bearing  on  this  last 
point  may  be  quoted  from  Principal  Rudra  of  St.  Stephen's 
College,  Delhi.  While  not  denying  the  equal  importance 
of  every  single  soul  truly  converted  in  the  eyes  of  Christ, 
whether  Pariah  or  Brahman,  he  adds:  "But  the  im- 
mediate question  is  not  that  of  the  individual  soul,  but  the 
progress  of  Christianity  as  a  whole  in  India;  and  in  a 
country  where  tradition  and  heredity  play  such  an  im- 
portant part,  it  would  be  a  policy  fraught  with  the  highest 
danger  to  neglect  the  classes  Vv-here  these  are  most  prom- 
inent."^ The  editor  of  the  magazine  in  which  the  sym- 
posium appears  gives  the  substance  of  the  discussion  and 
the  general  view  of  the  missionaries  in  a  brief  para- 
graph. "  Instead  of  withdrawing  from  any  class,  press 
forward  the  work  for  all.  Preach  to  every  creature; 
disciple  both  high  and  low.  Let  no  difficulties  deter,  no 
seeming  slowness  of  advance  dishearten  or  discourage. 
Attack  all  along  the  line.  Take  the  outposts;  yes,  and 
storm  the  citadel  too.  Pierce  the  rocky  mountain  from 
both  sides.  And  having  done  all,  stand  and  wait  for 
God !  " 

2.  '^Diffused'*  vs.  ^^Concentrated'*  Missions  —  'The 
Question. —  Allusions  have  already  been  made  to  the  sub- 
ject 2  In  the  latest  full  discussion  of  the  theme,  Dr. 
Mylne,  for  twenty-one  years  bishop  of  Bombay,  defines 
thus  the  two  methods :  "  I  have  to  bring  to  the  reader's 
notice  the  two  great  primary  types,  under  which  all  mis- 

^Church   Missionary   Review,    March,    1908,    pp.    187,    188, 
*  Ibid.,  January,   1908,  pp.   48,  49. 
'  Sec   pages   2Z^-22y,    for   example, 


"RECENT   MOVEMENTS  AND  OPPORTUNITIES  2C}t 

Sioiis  to  the  heathen  seem  naturally  and  inevitably  to  fall : 
the  mission  whose  immediate  aim  is  active  aggression 
upon  heathenism  wherever  and  whenever  it  can  be 
reached;  and  the  mission  whose  present  objective  is  to  be 
found  in  forming  at  a  center  a  body  of  indigenous  Chris- 
tians, through  the  power  of  whose  consecrated  lives  the 
mass  of  the  heathen  around  are,  in  time,  to  be  leavened 
with  the  Gospel."^  "  The  Hindu  being  what  he  is  in  the 
actual  conditions  of  his  life, —  in  personal  character,  in 
social  surroundings,  in  religious  convictions,  in  philosoph- 
ical principles, —  what  type  of  mission,  I  have  to  ask, 
what  methods  of  missionary  work,  are  most  likely  to  win 
him  to  Christ,  and  to  establish  him  in  worthiness  of 
discipleship  ?  "^ 

"Diffused''  Mission^. —  Just  in  proportion  as  converts 
rapidly  increase  and  mostly  in  those  missions  whose  main 
effort  looks  toward  a  wide  evangelism  does  the  problem 
of  extension  as  differentiated  from  intensive  work  grow 
increasingly  serious.  Bishop  Thoburn  long  ago  raised 
his  voice  in  warning  as  to  what  Methodist  mission- 
aries must  guard  against.  His  Church  in  America  was 
repeatedly  told  that  thousands  in  India  were  deliberately 
denied  admittance  to  the  Church  because  missionaries 
under  the  Bishop's  charge  could  not  properly  shepherd 
those  thus  admitted.  Yet  despite  this  acknowledged  dan- 
ger, not  only  that  Mission  but  others  as  well,  have  been 
permitting  many  to  come  into  their  membership  who  are 
not  only  not  fitted  for  its  sacred  duties,  but  who  bring 
reproach  on  the  cause.  Quantitative  success  may  be  se- 
cured by  such  a  method  but  it  is  at  the  expense  of  quali- 
tative failure.  Of  such  work  the  words  of  a  member 
of  the  London  Mission  in  India  are  a  merited  rebuke, 
though  originally  used  in  another  connection:  "Mis- 
sionary  methods    must    not    be   judged    simply    by    their 

*  Myline,  Missions  to  Hindus,  pp.  88,  89. 
»Ibid.,  p.   8. 


292  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OFI'UKTL'XITY 

successes,  but  also  by  their  failures;  not  by  the  num- 
bers who  are  brought  to  a  profession  of  Christianity,  but 
also  by  the  numbers  who  are  thereby  alienated  from 
Christ.  The  evangelizing  of  India  is  not  the  same  thing 
as  the  proselyting  of  Hindus."^  The  action  of  the 
Madras  Conference  of  1902,  in  which  the  speedy  evan- 
gelization of  the  Empire  was  a  dominant  note,  was  also 
a  preventive  measure  against  an  unguardedly  diffusive 
work,  since  it  calls  for  a  vastly  larger  foreign  force  and 
also  for  the  careful  training  and  oversight  of  Indian 
leaders.- 

"Concentrated"  Missions. —  Dr.  Mylne's  conclusions, 
even  if  one  must  dissent  from  a  few  of  his  arguments, 
especially  some  of  his  deductions  from  Scripture,^  show 
the  great  desirability  of  emphasizing  the  careful  work 
of  the  concentrated  mission,  especially  in  the  older  mis- 
sionary fields.  Speaking  as  a  Churchman  he  says: 
"  Whatever  be  its  dangers  and  drawbacks,  the  system  of 
concentrated  missions  seems  to  have  an  especial  suitabil- 
ity to  the  circumstances  and  idiosyncrasies  of  Hindus. 
For  characters  enfeebled  by  caste  and  debauched  by  Pan- 
theistic idolatry,  it  surely  must  be  the  case  that  a  long 
and  careful  training  is  needed  as  a  precedent  condition 
for  developing  Christian  independence.  The  one  grand 
object,  of  course,  which  every  evangelist  must  pursue  is 
the  development  of  an  indigenous  Church  which  shall 
work  upon  lines  of  its  own,  taking  nothing  from  European 
Christianity  but  the  Bible,  the  Creeds,  the  Sacraments, 
and  the  historic  Orders  of  the  Ministry.  ...  It  may 
sound  almost  paradoxical  to  maintain  that  the  concen- 
trated mission,  the  devotion  of  the  energies  of  the  mis- 
sionaries to  developing  and  building  up  of  their  flocks,  is 

^  Lucas,    The  Empire   of  Christ,   p.    103. 
*  Report  of  the  Madras   Conference,  1902,  pp.   204,  205. 
'  St.    Paul's   lack  of  method  and   the   Galatian  heresy,   e.   g..  Missions 
tQ  Hindus,  pp.  84,  86. 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS    AND   OrrOKTL'NITlES  2(j3 

tb.«  method  adapted  most  perfectly  to  tlic  conditions  of 
Indian  Christianity  as  found  in  the  present  day.  Ought 
we  not  —  it  might  possibly  be  asked  —  to  devote  our- 
selves to  developing  among  them  that  spirit  of  aggressive 
endeavor  in  which  they  are  so  totally  lacking?  I  reply 
without  the  slightest  hesitation,  that  this  most  desirable 
consummation  will  be  best  and  soonest  reached  by  the 
endeavor  to  train  up  a  few  to  be  Christians  in  a  deeper 
reality.  .  .  .  Christian  communities  living  ordered 
lives  of  faith,  bringing  forth  the  fruits  of  that  faith  in  a 
social  and  personal  life  contrasting  with  the  heathen 
around,  form  the  best  and  most  persuasive  of  arguments 
for  recommending  the  Gospel  to  their  neighbors."^ 

Each  Method  Has  Its  Place. —  It  is  manifest  that  both 
forms  of  work  are  liemanded  under  varying  conditions. 
This  the  Bishop  frankly  admits :  "  Each  type  is  essen- 
tial to  Christendom,  if  the  heathen  world  is  to  be  won, 
and  each  finds  its  prototype  in  the  Acts.  ...  Is  the 
mission  to  be  properly  a  mission?  Then  even  if  its  pri- 
mary object  be  to  work  on  concentrated  lines,  to  consoli- 
date an  indigenous  Church  as  the'  nucleus  of  future 
extension,  it  must  still  be  considering  from  the  first  how 
many  can  be  reached  by  the  Good  Tidings,  how  many  can 
be  brought  into  the  Church  with  permanent  benefit  to 
themselves  and  with  credit  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ  —  it 
must  remember  the  principle  of  diffusion.  Is  the  mission 
to  be  solid  and  successful?  Then  even  though  its  pri- 
mary object  be  at  least  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  as  many  as 
will  listen  to  its  preachers,  it  m.ust  so  carry  out  that  ob- 
ject as  to  create  from  its  earliest  converts  a  veritable 
*  people  of  possession  ' ;  it  must  secure  that  its  local  diffu- 
sion be  not  so  imprudently  guided  as  that  those  who  are 
brought  to  the  Savior  by  profession  and  by  sacramental 
initiation   should   miss   being  nourished   in   the    faith   by 

*  Mylne,  Missions  to  Hindus,  pp.  iio-ii2. 


294  iNDtA   AND   CHRISTIAN   OPPORTUNITY 

feeding  on  the  milk  of  the  Word  —  it  must  remember 
the  principle  of  concentration."^ 

VI.    The  Force  Needed 

I.  How  Many  Missionaries f  —  A  definite  answer  to 
this  question  was  given  by  the  Decennial  Conference 
which  met  at  Madras  in  1902.  We  read :  "  Even  if  the 
clear  and  intelligible  statement  of  the  Gospel  message  to 
each  inhabitant  were  all  that  we  aimed  at,  yet  the  body  of 
foreign  missionaries  and  native  preachers  at  present  at 
work  would  be  deplorably  inadequate,  as  it  will  suffice  for 
the  regular  visitation  of  only  a  small  proportion  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  the  vast  majority  of  villages  are  not  reg- 
ularly visited  at  all.  We  fully  recognize  that  the  greatest 
part  of  this  work  of  district  evangelization  must  be  done, 
not  by  foreigners,  but  by  members  of  the  Indian  Christian 
Church.  But  to  train  these  Indian  Christian  workers  and 
to  supervise  and  direct  their  work,  there  will  for  many 
years  to  come  be  required  a  considerable  number  of  for- 
eign missionaries.  It  is  thought  to  be  anything  but  an 
extravagant  estimate  of  the  needs  of  the  country,  if  we 
ask  that  there  be  one  male  and  one  female  missionary  for 
every  50,000  of  the  population,  and  this  would  mean  the 
quadrupling  of  our  present  numbers.  It  is  the  opinion  of 
sober,  thoughtful  and  zealous  men  that,  in  order  to  carry 
on  thoroughly  the  work  now  in  hand  and  to  enter  the 
most  obviously  open  doors  which  God  has  set  before  this 
Church  in  India,  the  missionary  staff  of  the  country  should 
be  at  least  doubled  within  the  next  ten  years."^ 

Illustrations. —  Examples  are  added  to  show  what  need 
there  is  for  a  greatly  increased  body  of  workers,  if  India 
is  to  be  evangelized.  One  is  found  in  the  report  of  Rev. 
J.  J.  Lucas,  prepared  in  1905,  at  the  request  of  a  Com- 

^Mylne,  Missions  to  Hindus,  pp.   88,  89,   178. 
^Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  1902,  pp.   204,  205. 


kECENt    MOVEMENTS   AND   OPPORTUNITIES  29$ 

mittee  appointed  by  the  ]\Iadras  Conference.  Here  is 
part  of  a  paragraph  referring  —  let  it  be  remembered  — 
to  only  one  of  the  divisions  of  India,  the  United  Provinces 
of  Agra  and  Oudh.  "  After  fifty  years  and  more,  follow- 
ing our  Western  methods,  there  are  more  than  50,000 
villages,  out  of  the  105,521  in  the  province,  in  which  the 
Gospel  has  not  been  preached  during  the  past  year,  and 
in  many  thousands  of  them  never.  How  could  it  be  other- 
wise, when  in  the  whole  Province  with  its  47,691,782 
people  there  are  only  118  ordained  foreign  missionaries, 
156  ordained  Indian  ministers,  and  not  1,500  Indian 
preachers,  catechists,  and  Scripture  readers.  The  number 
of  foreign  missionary  ladies  —  single  —  is  165,  and  of 
Indian  Christian  ladies  engaged  in  mission  work  the 
number  is  1,520."^  A  prominent  Indian  Christian,  V. 
S.  Azariah,  could  write  ^  in  the  beginning  of  1906  that  the 
Bombay  Presidency  contained  thirty  taluks  "  with  a  popu- 
lation of  over  50,000  each,  in  which  there  was  not  a 
single  mission  or  Christian.  Of  Bengal,  which  before  its 
recent  division  had  nearly  as  large  a  population  as  the 
United  States,  a  local  missionary  has  said :  "  Quite  half 
the  province  has  never  even  heard  the  sound  of  the 
Gospel."  Rajputana,  with  a  population  of  nearly  ten 
millions,  has  only  one  Indian  Christian  to  3,400  non- 
Christians,  and  many  of  its  component  States  are  without 
a  single  Christian  or  evangelical  worker.  One  Christian 
to  15,000  is  the  status  of  Kashmir's  3,000,000  inhabitants. 
Surely  the  appeal  of  the  Madras  Conference  all  too  in- 
adequately voices  the  numerical  need  of  workers. 

2.  Classes  of  Workers  Needed. —  The  demand  for 
workers    is   practically    the    same    as    when    the    Madras 

*  Lucas,  Unoccupied  Fields  in  the  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and 
Oxtdh,   p.    26. 

'  Young  Men  of  India,  January,    1906,  pp.    13-15. 

'  A  taluk  is  "  a  government  district  from  which  a  revenue,  fixed  in 
perpetuity  in  lieu  of  taxes,  is  derived,  the  right  to  such  rwenue  being 
hereditary." 


296  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPrORTUNITY 

Conference  stated  the  forms  of  labor  awaiting  the  men 
and  women  whom  they  so  urgently  called.  "  As  there  is 
need  of  a  large  diversity  of  gifts,  we  appeal  to  those  of  the 
most  highly  educated  classes  of  our  native  lands  who  have 
consecrated  their  lives  to  the  obedience  of  Christ  to  con- 
sider whether  there  is  not  a  call  to  many  of  them  to  dedi- 
cate their  talents,  which  are  largely  the  heritag'e  of  seven- 
teen centuries  of  Christian  privilege  and  enlightenment, 
to  the  uplifting  of  their  brothers  and  sisters  in  foreign 
lands,  who  have  had  fewer  advantages.  We  would  appeal 
to  ministers  and  educationists  and  other  men  of  scholar- 
ship, to  doctors  and  nurses,  to  writers  and  journalists,  to 
men  of  organizing  power  and  business  experience,  and  to 
Christian  ladies  and  gentlemen,  possessed  of  private  pecu- 
niary resources,  to  ask  themselves  whether  they  can  not 
hear  a  call  of  God  to  this  work.  At  the  same  time  every 
worker  endued  with  the  spirit  of  love,  of  power  and  of  a 
sound  mind,  and  possessing  the  qualities  that  go  to  make 
the  successful  minister  at  home,  will  find  here  abundant 
scope  for  the  exercise  of  all  his  gifts."  ^ 

3.  Character  of  This  Force  —  Dr.  Penncll. —  Quality 
is  even  more  important  than  quantity  in  the  mis- 
sionary body  in  India.  It  would  seem  reasonable  that 
the  viewpoint  of  Indians  themselves  should  be  considered 
in  this  matter.  The  kind  of  man  whom  they  desire  may 
be  learned  from  their  own  testimony  concerning  certain 
successful  men  who  have  come  near  to  their  lives.  Here 
is  part  of  an  address  at  a  farewell  service  of  the  non- 
Christian  citizens  of  Bannu,  on  India's  northwestern  fron- 
tier, on  the  occasion  of  the  departure  of  a  beloved  med- 
ical missionary,  Dr.  Pennell :  "  In  order  to  be  able  to 
freely  mix  with  us  you  have,  ever  since  your  coming 
here,  adopted  the  costume  of  an  Afghan.  You  have  been 
joining  our  social  gatherings,  you  have  been  moving 
amidst  us  as  if  you  were  one  of  our  own  kith  and  kin. 

*  Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,   1902,   pp.   205,    206. 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS   AND   OPPORTUNITIES  297 

Above  all,  we  appreciate  and  can  not  too  highly  admire 
your  efforts,  in  bridging  over  the  gulf  that  divides  the 
Europeans  and  the  Indians.  It  is  the  men  of  your  stamp 
that  are  most  needed.  We  can  not  sufficiently  praise 
the  manifold  qualities  of  your  head  and  heart,  but  suffice 
it  to  say  that  your  purity  of  character,  nobleness  of  mind, 
and  broadness  of  sympathies  have  made  a  home  for  you 
in  the  heart  of  every  Hindu  and  Mohammedan,  rich  or 
poor,  young  or  old.  To  see  you  is  to  love  you,  and  to 
know  you  is  a  pleasure.  We  bid  you  adieu  and  pray  for 
you  a  happy  voyage  home.  We  shall  be  fondly  looking 
for  the  day  when  we  shall  welcome  you  back  in  our 
midst."  ^ 

Indian  Estimate  of  President  Hall. —  The  lamented 
Charles  Cuthbert  Hall,  twice  Barrows  Lecturer  in  India, 
won  his  way  to  the  heart  of  Indians  as  no  other  man 
from  a  foreign  land  has  done  in  so  brief  a  time.  Shortly 
after  the  news  of  his  death  reached  India,  a  memorial 
meeting  was  held  in  Bangalore,  attended  by  200  educated 
Hindus,  of  whom  seventy-five  per  cent,  were  Brahmans. 
Tender  words  of  condolence  and  glowing  expressions  of 
gratitude  were  spoken  on  the  occasion,  among  them  the 
following:  "Quietly  ignoring  the  ecclesiastical  and  tra- 
ditional accretions  which  have  gathered  round  Christianity 
and  which  have  obscured  its  meaning  and  value  to  non- 
Christian  people,  he  endeavored  to  present  it  in  its 
iniiversal,  permanent,  cosmopolitan  aspects,  so  that  its 
value  and  helpfulness  could  be  appreciated  by  all  nations. 
He  studied  and  emphasized  the  points  of  union  between 
Christianity  and  other  faiths  and  said  as  little  as  possible 
about  their  points  of  difference.  He  clearly  recognized 
the  working  of  God's  Spirit  in  the  religious  thinking  of 
Eastern  nations  and  the  genuineness  of  their  religious 
experience,  and  he  felt  that  the  universal  religion  of 
mankind  could  never  be  attained,   nor  Christianity   fulfil 

^The   C.   M.    S.    Gazelle.   June,    1908,   p.    184. 


2gS  INDIA   AxND   CHRISTIAN   OPrORTUNlTY 

its  own  particular  part  in  the  great  achievement,  until 
Western  experience  and  thought  should  be  wedded  to 
Eastern  experience  and  thought.  He  was  a  signal  ex- 
ample of  the  method  in  which  work  of  the  religious  ad- 
vocate ought  to  be  carried  on.  The  spirit  of  love  and 
modesty  pervaded  all  that  he  said.  There  was  no  trace 
of  narrowness,  pride,  bigotry,  or  self-sufficiency,  but  the 
utmost  deference  toward  those  whom  he  addressed  and 
sought  to  help."  ^ 

A  "  Christian  Friar/'  —  An  interesting  experiment  has 
recently  been  made  by  a  young  Episcopalian  from  Phila- 
delphia and  has  met  with  a  success  which  those  who 
appreciate  the  Indian  exaltation  of  the  ascetic  life  would 
have  predicted.  It  had  been  tried  only  two  years  when 
Mr.  S.  E.  Stokes,  Jr.,  began  in  1908  to  secure  other  like- 
minded  men  to  follow  his  plan  of  reaching  Indians. 
While  not  belittling  existing  forms  of  work,  all  of  which 
he  strongly  asserts  are  greatly  needed,  he  holds  that  there 
is  a  real  demand  for  yet  another  type  of  workers.  His 
ideal  is  a  Protestant  St.  Francis.  Accordingly,  distribut- 
ing all  that  he  possessed  and  spending  three  days  alone 
in  prayer,  he  assumed  the  robe  and  obligations  of  a  friar 
and  went  forth  to  minister  to  India's  neediest, —  the 
plague  smitten,  the  leper,  small-pox  victims,  and  others 
to  whom  none  would  bring  relief,  especially  those  of  the 
most  despised  castes.  He  was  put  to  the  severest  tests 
by  villagers  who  thought  he  was  insincere,  but  he  came 
off  a  victor  through  the  meekness  which  is  in  Christ. 
The  dangers  and  privations  to  which  he  willingly  sub- 
mitted soon  made  him  an  object  of  general  interest,  and 
Hindus,  wherever  he  wandered,  were  eagerly  listening  to 
his  informal  talks.  Preaching  he  does  not  emphasize. 
"  There  were  no  religious  meetings,"  Mr.  Stokes  says, 
"  as  I  made  it  a  rule  never  to  talk  of  Christ  unless  ques- 

^  The  Congregatlonalist,  Aug.    i,   1908,  p.   149, 


RECENT   MOVEMENTS   AND   OPPORTUNITIES  299 

tioned  about  Him.  We  talked  on  the  subjects  which 
interested  us  most;  yet  hardly  a  night  passed  when  the 
Master  did  not  have  a  place  —  often  a  large  place  —  in 
the  conversation.  .  .  .  The  thing  which  is  lacking 
[in  the  work  of  other  missionaries]  I  believe  to  be  the 
vision  of  the  homeless,  suffering,  serving  Jesus,  the  Jesus 
who  came  to  serve  and  laid  down  His  life  for  the 
sheep.  .  .  .  The  non-Christian  world  must  be  taught 
that  the  joy  of  the  Christian  does  not  depend  upon  earthly 
possessions,  by  seeing  a  body  of  men  who  possess  none 
of  those  things  which  the  world  deems  essential  to  happi- 
ness, and  who  yet  are  happier  than  the  people  of  the 
world.  Their  admiraftion  must  be  kindled  by  seeing  men 
who  go  where  others  fear  to  go,  take  care  of  those  whom 
others  fear  to  approach,  serve  those  whom  others  despise, 
and  do  all  this  for  the  love  of  Christ.  H  such  a  body 
of  men  were  to  act  in  this  way,  none  would  be  so  quick 
to  cast  themselves  at  the  Master's  feet  as  the  people  of 
India,  and  the  high  castes  would  lead  the  way."  ^ 

A  Brahman  Professor's  View. —  Still  another  ideal  of 
the  missionary  as  he  should  be  from  the  Hindu  viewpoint 
is  found  in  an  article  on  "  Hindrances  to  the  Spread  of 
Christianity,"  written  for  an  Indian  paper  by  a  Brahman 
professor  in  a  Bombay  College.  "  Why  should  not  the 
religion  which  presents  an  incarnation  superior  to  the 
incarnation  of  Vishnu  and  the  Bhagavata  Puranas,  and 
a  Trinity  of  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
superior  to  the  Brahmanical  trinity,  spread  more  rapidly, 
especially  among  a  people  who  by  tradition  have  been 
for  centuries  incarnationists  and  trinitarians?  [In  order 
for  it  to  do  so]  the  missionary  must  think  less  of  Europe 
and  more  of  the  Master  who  saw  no  loss  of  His  high 
dignity  or  prestige  in  openly  eating  and  drinking  with 
publicans    and    Sinners,    who    revealed    a    fine    brotherly 

^The  East  and  the  West,  April,    1908,  pp.    132,   136,   137. 


300  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

feeling  in  asking  water  to  drink  of  a  Samaritan  woman 
whom  a  Jew  of  those  days  looked  upon  as  a  Brahman 
looks  upon  a  Pariah  to-day,  who  had  the  humility  to 
wash  the  feet  of  His  own  disciples,  who  has  assigned 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  to  children,  and  who  ever  sym- 
pathizes as  much  by  deed  as  by  word  with  the  sick, 
the  poor,  the  destitute,  and  the  fallen.  When  preached 
by  such  missionaries,  why  should  not  people  be  drawn 
by  hundreds  toward  Christ  ?  "  ^  While  not  wholly  agree- 
ing with  the  Hindu  estimates  just  adduced,  men  and 
women  of  such  characters  wondrously  attract  the  Indian. 
As  Mr.  Lucas  has  said :  "  The  Hindu  religious  nature  is 
a  veritable  Nile,  which  waits  only  for  the  skill  which 
can  direct  and  the  energy  which  can  utilize,  to  transform 
India  into  the  richest  province  of  the  Empire  of  Christ."- 
Mr.  Basu's  illustration  is  also  apropos:  "If  you  had  a 
number  of  narrow-necked  vessels  to  fill  up  with  water, 
would  you  succeed  best  by  getting  them  together  in  a 
room  and  flinging  bucketfuls  over  them,  or  by  pouring 
a  little  into  the  mouth  of  each?  "^ 

4.  A  Desideratum. —  India  is  a  field  of  such  varied 
difficulties  that  a  few  of  the  keenest  Indian  missionaries 
are  beginning  to  advocate  special  training  for  the  work 
beyond  what  is  received  in  the  Occidental  university  or 
theological  institution.  Principal  A.  G.  Frascr,  son  of 
the  recent  distinguished  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Bengal, 
puts  this  aspiration  in  a  sentence :  "  I  hope  some  day 
to  see  two  or  three  of  our  best  scholars,  filled  with  the 
Spirit  of  Christ,  living  in  each  province  of  India  apart 
with  a  few  students  to  consider  the  problems  of  that 
land  and  the  presentation  of  the  Gospel  to  it,  and  thus 
training  the  future  apostles  of  India."*     Mr.  Lucas  writes 

^  The   C.   M.   S.    Gazette,   May,    1908,    p.    145. 
"Lucas,   The  Empire  of   Christ,   p.    148. 
^Church   Missionary   Review,    May,    1907,   p.    293. 
*  Church  Missionary  Review,   Feb.    1908,  p.   75. 


RECENT   MOVEMENTS    AND   OPPORTUNITIES  30I 

at  greater  length  in  a  chapter  on  "  The  Indian  Religious 
Climate,"  a  paragraph  of  which  is  as  follows :  "  Attention 
has  in  recent  years  been  very  rightly  directed  to  the 
importance  of  the  study  of  Hinduism  by  every  missionary 
who  goes  out  to  labor  amongst  the  people  of  India.  There 
is  no  question  that  such  a  study  ought  to  be  an  essential 
part  of  the  curriculum  of  every  missionary  student.  Un- 
less the  foundation  of  such  a  study  is  laid  at  home,  it 
is  extremely  difficult  for  him  amidst  multifarious  duties, 
into  which  he  is  plunged  as  soon  as  he  arrives,  to  find 
the  necessary  time  for  any  serious  investigation  of  so 
vast  a  subject  as  is  included  in  the  term.  With  the 
majority  of  missionaries,  the  Greek  and  Latin  and  Hebrew 
upon  which  they  spent  so  much  time  are  subjects  which 
cease  to  have  much  practical  importance  in  the  life-work 
which  confronts  them,  while  the  Sanskrit  which  was 
omitted  confronts  them  at  every  turn.  Similarly,  the 
religious  extravagances  which  they  encountered  in  their 
study  of  the  heresies  of  the  past  fade  from  the  memory 
as  matters  of  indifference,  when  they  puzzle  over  the 
religious  extravagances  met  with  at  every  turn  and  the 
roots  of  which  are  embedded  in  a  literature  with  which 
they  have  no  acquaintance.  It  is  not  what  was  included 
in  the  curriculum,  but  what  was  omitted,  which  is  here 
regretted.  The  missionary  should  be  prepared  with  a 
view  to  the  work  in  which  he  is  to  be  engaged.  He  is 
submitted  to  the  same  process  as  those  who  are  destined 
for  the  ministry  at  home,  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  his 
field  of  labor  is  entirely  different.  While  a  study  of 
Sanskrit  and  an  acquaintance  with  Hindu  religion  and 
philosophy  are  desirable,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
they  stand  in  much  the  same  relation  to  the  religious 
thought  and  feeling  of  the  Hindu  of  to-day  as  the  geology 
of  India  stands  in  relation  to  its  geography.  A  knowledge 
of  the  one  is  eminently  desirable,  but  a  knowledge  of  the 


302  INDIA    AND    CHRISTIAN    OPPORTUNITY 

Other  is  absolutely  essential."^  While  much  can  be  done 
in  the  Occident  to  prepare  candidates  for  the  Indian  field, 
there  are  other  more  essential  things,  like  that  alluded 
to  in  the  last  two  sentences  just  quoted,  which  can  best 
be  learned  in  India  itself.  At  the  request  of  its  editor, 
the  author  has  set  forth  his  views  on  this  subject  at  some 
length  in  an  Indian  magazine,^  and  it  is  a  hopeful  sign 
that  it  has  given  rise  to  some  discussion  there.  The 
American  Board  has  taken  a  step  in  the  right  direction 
in  that  one  of  its  India  missions  places  its  new  mission- 
aries in  charge  of  an  older  experienced  man,  under  whose 
tuition  they  study  and  read  during  the  early  years  of  their 
work  in  the  Empire. 

An  inevitable  conclusion  of  the  foregoing  paragraphs 
is  that  India  has  reached  a  stage  of  acute  crisis  in  her 
development.  The  country  is  now  in  a  state  of  transition 
and  the  impressions  which  each  day  makes  on  her  national 
life  are  tremendously  potent.  If  the  influences  of  Jesus 
Christ  are  to  determine  her  future,  these  influences  must 
at  once  become  operative  on  a  greatly  enlarged  scale. 

5.     Why  the  Force  is  Needed  NOW  —  India's  Crisis. 

One  can  not  better  conclude  this  book  than  by  quoting 
the  stirring  appeal  of  India's  leading  missionaries  as  voiced 
at  the  Madras  Conference  of  1902:  "We  are  well  aware 
that  the  above  facts  apply  not  only  to  work  in  India  but 
to  work  in  most  if  not  all  parts  of  the  mission  field.  But 
we  feel  that  there  is  a  special  urgency  in  this  appeal  in 
the  case  of  India,  Burma  and  Ceylon:  (i)  Because  of  the 
abundant  and  unique  facilities  for  work  throughout  these 
great  dependencies  of  the  British  Crown,  and  the  large 
measure  in  which  their  people  are  absorbing  Western 
ideas.  (2)  Because  India,  now  awaking  from  the  sleep 
of  centuries,  is  in  its  most  plastic  and  formative  condition, 
so  that  the  impressions,  good  or  ill,  which  it  receives  in 

^  Lucas,   The  Empire  of  Christ,  pp.   43,  44. 

^  The  Baptist  Missionary  Reviezv,   May,    1908,  pp.    179-185. 


RECENT    MOVEMENTS   AND   OPPOUT UNITIES  303 

these  present  fateful  years,  are  likely  to  affect  its  future 
for  centuries  to  come.  (3)  Because  this  critical  time  is 
rapidly  passing.  Many  forms  of  worldlincss,  and  many 
motives  at  variance  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ  are  com- 
peting for  the  dominion  of  the  Indian  mind  and  heart,  and 
loss  of  the  present  opportunity  may  multiply  our  difficul- 
ties and  enfeeble  and  hamper  our  work  in  the  coming 
decades. 

"For  Christ's  Sake." — "In  the  name  of  Christ,  our 
Common  Lord,  for  the  sake  of  those  who,  lacking  Him 
are  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  we  ask  you  to  listen  to 
our  appeal.  You,  un(ier  God,  have  sent  us  forth  to  India. 
We  count  it  a  privilege  to  give  our  lives  to  this  land.  For 
Christ's  sake  and  the  Gospel's,  strengthen  our  hands,  and 
enable  us  to  press  on  towards  the  goal  of  our  great  calling, 
when  the  Kingdom  of  the  World  shall  become  the  King- 
dom of  the  Lord  and  of  His  Christ."  ^ 

*  Report  of  the  Madras  Conference,  1902,  p.  204. 


Appendix  A — Annotated  Bibliography 


Tbe  works  mentioned  below  constitute  only  an  inappreciable  part  of 
the  extensive  literature  on  India  in  English.  Those  have  been  chosen 
which  are  most  commonly  found  in  American  libraries,  and  for  that  reason 
the  proportion  of  worlis  published  in  Europe  is  comparatively  small.  Very 
few  periodicals  have  been  entered  in  this  list,  and  of  these  only  two  have 
been  referred  to  for  specific  suggestions  for  different  chapters.  The 
Missionary  Review  of  the  World  is  the  one  most  widely  found  in  libraries, 
and  hence  a  large  number  of  articles  have  been  suggested  from  that  source. 

The  heavy-faced  type  is  used  to  indicate  authors,  and  also  the  chapters 
In  the  text-booli,  which  se/tions  of  the  volume  under  consideration  and 
quoted  thereafter  Illustrate.  In  most  cases  the  names  of  authors  or  works 
are  preceded  by  an  initial  letter.  These  suggest  the  value  of  the  material 
recommended,  as  far  as  authorship  is  a  criterion.  The  several  letters  have 
the  following  values: 

m  indicates   Indian   missionary   au-  t    marks  books  written  by  travelers 

thorship.  in  India. 

n    indicates  native  authorship.  T    indicates  that  book  was  In  part 

o    indicates    that    the    author   Is    an  the  outgrowth  of  missionary  visi- 

officlal   of  a   missionary   society.  tation. 

r    indicates   prolonged   residence   of  *    indicates    unusual    value'  of    the 

the  author  in  India.  work  so   marked. 

•AUgemeiue  Missions-Zeitschrift.  This  periodical  is  invaluable  for  every 
phase  of  work  in  India.  Consult  Inhalt  and  Sachregister,  noting  es- 
pecially those  articles  In  the  Missiousrundschau  section  and  the 
biographies   of   Indian   workers   in   the   Beibl.ntt    section. 

»» Bailey,  W.  C.  The  Lepers  of  our  Indian  Empli'e.  1891.  Illuatrating: 
Ch.  VI.:  throughout,  for  leper  work. 

Barnes,  I.  H.  Behind  the  Pardah:  The  Story  of  C.  E.  Z.  M.  S.  Work  in 
India.  1897.  Illustrating  Chs.  III.,  VI.:  throughout,  for  the  conditioa 
of  women  and  pictures  of  work  for  them. 

«nn Barrows,  J.  H.,  editor.  The  World's  Parlia  eut  of  Religions.  2  vols. 
1893.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  pp.  316-339  (Hinduism);  pp.  968-978  (Vlve- 
kananda  on  Hinduism);  pp.  345-'i^l,  122(5-1229  (Brania  Samaj);  pj». 
767-779  (social  reform);  pp.  898-920;  (Parsees);  pp.  1083-1092  (religious 
debt  to  Asia,  Mozoomdar) ;  pp.  1222-1226  (.Tains);  For  Ch.  VI.:  pp. 
456-460  (concessions  to  native  Ideas) ;  pp.  1269-1276  (Christian  and  Hindu 
ideas).    For  Ch.  VIII. :  pp.  1172-1178  (religious  outlook). 

•Barth,  A.  The  Religions  of  India.  1882.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.:  ch.  i.  (Vedic 
religions);  ch.  11.  (Brahmanlsra> ;  ch.  ill.  (Buddhism);  ch.  iv.  (Jain- 
ism).     For  Ch.   IV.    (modern  Hinduism). 

Beach,  H.  P.  A  Geography  and  Atlas  of  Protestant  Missions.  2  vols.  1901- 
1903.  Illustrating  Ch.  VIII.:  especially  by  its  missionary  maps,  vol. 
II..  plates  10-12. 

Bettany,  G.  T.  nie  World's  Religions.  1891.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  pp. 
84-99  (religion  of  abori^Mnos) :  pp.  170-213  (Vedic  relieion  and  Brah- 
manism);  pp.  255-292  (Buddha  and  his  doctrines):  pp.  231-2.54  (modern 
Hinduism);  pp.  .302-310  (Burmese  Buddhism);  pp.  3.37-3  2  (Jainism); 
pp.   365-370   (modern  Parseeism). 

Bliss,  E.  M.,  editor.  The  Encyclopaedia  of  Missions.  2  vols.  1891.  Illus- 
trating  Ch.    IV.:     articles   Hinduism,    Mohammedanism.      For  Ch.   V.: 


article  India. 


305 


3(^ 


APPENDIX   A 


»Bose,  R.  C.     Brahmoism,  or  History  of  Reformed  Hinduism.     Illustrating 

Chs.  IV.   and  VII.;   throughout. 
»Bos6,  R.  C.    Hindu  Philosopliy  Popularly  Examined.    1S84.    Illustrating  Ch. 

II.:     chs.  i.-iv.     For  Ch.   VII.:     chs.   x.-xii.   and  supplement    (modern 

schools  of  philosophy). 
nBose,  R.  C.    The  Hindus  as  They  Are,    2d  ed.,  1883.     Illustrating  Ch.  Ul.: 

ch.  i.  (Hindu  household);    ch.  iii.  (Hindu  schoolboy);    chs.  iv.,  y.,  xvil,- 

xix.,  xxii.,  xxiii.   (girls,  women,  and  married  life);    ch.  xiii.  (caste); 

ch.  xiv.  (Brahmans).     For  Ch.  IV.:  chs.  vi.-xii.    (religious  festivals); 

ch.  XX.  (death  and  funeral  ceremonies). 

*  Brown,    W.      History    of    the    Propagation    of    Christianity    among    the 

Heathen  Since  the  Reformation.  3d  ed.  3  vols.  1854.  Illustrating 
Ch.  v.:  vol.  i.,  pp.  133-176  (Danish-Halle  workers);  vol.  ii.,  pp.  327- 
366  (Church  Missionary  Society) ;  pp.  474-493  (General  Assembly 
Church  of  Scotland) ;  pp.  494-503  (Free  Church  of  Scotland) ;  vol.  Hi., 
pp.  1-12  (American  Board);  pp.  246-308  (Baptist  Missionary  Union); 
pp.   323-370   (general  summary). 

m  Butler,  W.  The  Laud  of  the  Vedas.  1894.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.:  chs.. 
Iv.-viii.  (Sepoy  Mutiny).  For  Ch.  III.:  ch.  1.  (people,  caste);  ch.  li. 
(woman). 

*ni Carmlchael,  A.  Wilson-.  Things  as  They  Are:  Mission  Work  in  South 
India,  1003.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.:  throughout,  for  South  Indian  scenery. 
For  Ch.  III.:  the  home  life  of  lower  classes.  For  Ch.  IV.:  see  espe- 
cially chs.  xxi.,  xxiv.  For  Ch.  VI.:  throughout  gives  unexcelled  ac- 
coants  of  work  for  women  among  lower  classes.  For  Ch.  VII.:  par- 
ticularly chs.  xiv.-xvi.  For  Ch.  VIII. :  pp.  41-44,  chs.  xviii.,  xxxi., 
xxxii. 

m  Chamberlain,  J.  In  the  Tiger  Jungle.  1896.  Illustrating  Ch,  VI.:  ch.  v. 
(power  of  song);  ch.  vi.  (tracts);  chs.  viii.-xi.  (touring);  chs.  vii., 
xii.,  xiii.  (work  at  a  station).  For  Ch.  VII.:  chs.  xxi.,  xxii.  (opposi- 
tion and  persecution  of  converts).  For  Ch.  VIII.:  ch.  xxiii.  (triumph 
of   Christianity). 

«n Chamberlain,  J.  The  Cobra's  Den.  1900.  Illustrating  Ch,  IV. :  chs.  x., 
xi.  For  Ch.  VI.:  chs.  iv.,  ix.  (medical  work);  chs.  ill.,  vi.,  viii. 
(itinerating  and  bookselling).  For  Ch.  VIII.:  ch.  xix.  (Hindu  Chris- 
tians'  contributions). 

» Children  of  India,  Written  for  the  Children  of  England,  No  date.  Illus- 
trating Ch.  IV.:    Parts  iii.,  iv.  (gods,  festivals,  religions). 

*  Church   Missionary   Intelligencer.     Its   fifty-four  volumes  contain   a  vast 

number  of  authoritative  articles  on  every  phase  of  India  and  its 
missions. 

mClark,  R.  The  Punjab  and  Siudh  Missions  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 
1885.  Illustrating  Ch.  III.:  ch.  v.  (people  of  Punjab  and  Sindh).  For 
Ch.  VI.:  good  throughout.  For  Ch.  VII.:  ch.  xvi.  (native  church  coun- 
cil) ;  ch.  xvii.  (political  aspects  of  missions) ;  ch.  xxi.  (difficulties  and 
dangers). 

BClough,  E.  R.  While  Sewing  Sandals:  Tales  of  a  Telugu  Pariah  Tribe. 
1899,  Illustrating  Chs.  IV.,  VI.:  throughout,  for  the  way  in  which  con- 
verts come  through  local  traditions  and  religions  to  Christianity. 

jnClough,  J.  E.  From  Darkness  to  Light:  the  Story  of  a  Telugu  Convert. 
1882.    Illustrating  Ch.  VI.:    (excellent  for  Southeastern  India). 

ovCohh,  H.  N.  Far  Hence,  A  Budget  of  Letters  from  Our  Mission  Fields  in 
Asia.  1893.  Illustrating  Chs.  V.  and  VI.:  chs.  iv.-xvl.  (work  in  Re- 
formed Church  of  America's  Missions). 

nCoopooswamey.  Every-day  Life  in  South  India.  An  Autobiography.  18S5. 
Illustrating  Ch.  III. :  good  for  native  convert's  life  throughout.  For  Ch, 
IV.:  chs.  v.,  vi.,  viii.  For  Ch.  VI.:  ch.  xi.  (woman's  work);  ch.  Ix, 
(mission  schools);  ch.  xiv.  (mission  life);  ch.  xvi.  (receiving  bap- 
tism); ch.   xix.   (unsatisfactory  converts). 

tCust,  R.  N.  Pictures  of  Indian  Life.  1881.  Illustrating  Ch.  III.:  ch.  vi. 
(village);  ch.  xii.  (the  family);  ch.  xx.  (caste);  ch.  xxiii.  (women). 
For  Ch.  IV.:   ch.  xxii. 

*  Davids,   T.   W.    Rhys-.     Buddhism.     1894.     Illustrating  Ch.   II.:   chs.    11,, 

iii.    (Buddha's   life);   ch.  ix.    (spread   of  Buddhism). 
■  Denning,  M.  B.     Mosaics  from  India,     1902.     Illustrating  Ch,  I.:  ch.  xl. 


APPENDIX  A  307 

(famine);  chs.  H.,  vH.,  xlH.  (parts  of  India).  For  Ch.  III.:  chs.  vl., 
TiiL-x.  (girls  and  women) ;  ch.  ii.  (Government);  ch.  xv.  (caste).  For 
Ch.  IV.:  ch.  xviii.  (gods  an^,  religion) ;  ch.  xix.  (pilgrimages  and  holy 
places).  For  Ch.  VIII.:  cb..  lii.  (missions  in  India);  ch.  v.  (Ramabal 
and  her  widows). 

*Denni8,  J.  S.  Centennial  Survey  of  Foreign  Missions.  Being  a  Conspectus 
of  the  Achievements  and  Results  of  Evangelical  Missions  in  All  Lands 
at  the  Close  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  1902.  Illustrating  Chs.  VI.  and 
Vm. :  its  tables  of  every  form  of  missionarj-  activity  are  unsurpassed  in 
their  details. 

Dennis,  J.  S.  Foreign  Missions  after  a  Century.  1893.  Illustrating  Ch, 
VIII.:    pp.  96-105  (appeal  based  on  conditions  in  1S9.3). 

•mDubols,  J,  A,  Hindu  Manners,  Customs,  and  Ceremonies.  2  vols.  1807. 
Illustrating  Chs.  III.,  IV.:    throughout,  but  especially  in  Part  I. 

■Dutt,  E.  C.  Ancient  India,  2000  B.  C.  —  200  A.  D.  1893.  Illustrating  Chs. 
II.  and  IV.:    throughout. 

»Dyer,  H.  S.  Pandita  Ramabai.  1900.  Illustrating  Chs.  III.,  VL,  VIII.: 
throughout  for  woman's  and  philanthropic  work. 

♦East  and  the  West  (The).  Illustrating  Ch.  ni.:  April,  1903,  pp.  121-133 
(moral  tone  of  India).  For  Ch.  IV.:  April,  1903,  pp.  148-155  (reform  of 
Mohammedan  education)^  pp.  171-181  (Anglo-Indian  novelists  and 
Hinduism);  July,  1903,  pp.  .306-316  (place  of  All  in  Eastern  religious 
thought).  For  Ch.  VI.:  April.  1903,  pp.  195-205  (missionary  work  and 
native  education).  For  Ch.  VII.:  April,  1903.  pp.  206-215  (men  and 
money);  July,  1903,  pp.  330-337  (Dr.  Oldfleld's  criticisms  of  Indian 
missions).  For  Ch.  VIII.:  July,  1903,  pp.  254-263  (attitude. of  educated 
Hindus  toward  Christianity). 

■Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference,  Ts'^ew  York,  1900.  2  vols.  1900.  Illua- 
tratiny  Ch.  VI. :  see  Index,  references  under  India.  For  Ch.  VIII.:  vol. 
1.,  ch.  xxi.   (general  survey). 

*Elphinstone,  M.  The  History  of  India.  1874.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.: 
throughout,  for  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  periods. 

Encyclopaedias,  General.  Consult  the  articles  Brahmanism,  Buddhism, 
Hinduism,  India,  Jalnism,  Mohammedanism,  Parsees,  Sikhs,  etc.  The 
tenth  edition  of  the  Brltannica  is  particularly  good  on  recent  events 
and  conditions. 

Fitohett,  W.  H.  The  Tale  of  the  Great  Mutiny.  1901.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.: 
for  mutiny  only. 

tFrazer,  R.  W.  British  India.  1897.  Illustrating  Ch.  V.:  throughout,  espe- 
cially for  government,  the  mutiny  (ch.  xiv.),  and  moral  and  material 
progress  (ch.  xvi.). 

« Frost,  A.  G.  By  Waysides  in  India.  1902.  Illustrating  Ch.  VI. :  through- 
out, for  woman's  work. 

*« Fuller,  Mrs.  M.  B.  The  Wrongs  of  Indian  Womanhood.  1900.  Illustra- 
ting  Ch.  III.:  throughout,  for  various  classes  of  women.  For  Ch.  VI.: 
chs.  xvl. -xviii.  (woman's  work). 

Oarhe,  B.  The  Philosophy  of  Ancient  India.  1897.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.: 
throughout,  especially  pp.  1-31. 

Giles,  H.  A  Record  of  the  Buddhistic  Kingdoms.  No  date.  Illustrating 
Oh.  n.:  good  for  Buddhist  India. 

•aQordon,  A.  Our  Indian  Missions,  1855-1SS5.  1888.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.: 
ch.  Ix.  (Sepoy  Mutiny).  For  Chs.  VI.-VIII.:  throughout,  for  United 
Presbyterians  of  the  United  States. 

■  Grant,  W.  D.,  editor.  Christendom  Anno  Domini  MDCCCCI.  2  vols. 
1902.    niustrating  Chs.  V.,  VI.:    vol.  1..  pp.  218-242. 

♦Grundemann,  R.  Burkhardt's  Kleine  Missions-Bibliothek.  4  vols.  1876- 
1881.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.:  vol.  iii..  pp.  15-45.  For  Ch.  IV.:  pp.  45-55. 
For  Ch.  v.:  pp.  55-71  (to  beginning  of  the  19th  century).  For  Chs. 
Vl.-Vm. :    pp.  81-340  (work  by  provinces  and  states). 

tGuinness,  L.  E.  Across  India  at  the  Dawn  of  the  Twentieth  Century.  1898. 
Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  ch.  iii.  (Parsees);  ch.  xiii.  (Neo-Hinduism).  For 
Ch.  VI.:    throughout. 

Gundert,  H.  Die  evangelische  Mission,  ihre  LSnder,  Volker  und  Arbeiten. 
Drltte  Auflage.  1894.  Illustrating  Chs.  V.,  VI.:  pp.  223-297  (summary 
Ot  work  by  provinces  and  states). 


^(jS  appendix  a 

■■Harband,  B.  M.  Daughters  of  Darkness  iu  Sunny  India.  1903.  Illustra»» 
ing:  Chs.  III.  and  VI.:  throughout,  espcciallj-  the  sufferings  of  women 
In  South  India. 

[Harrison,  J.  W.]  A.  Mackay  Ruthquist.  1893.  Illustrating  Ch.  VI.: 
throughout,   for  woman's  work  especiiilly  among  Gonds. 

*Hauff,  M.  Essays  on  the  Sacred  Language,  Writings,  and  Religion  of  the 
Parsis.     2d  ed.     1878,     Illustrating  Cii.  IV.:   throufehout. 

"History  of  Christianity  in  India,  with  Its  Prospects.  189.5.  lUustratinjr 
Ch.  v.:    throughout.     For  Ch.  VIII.:    pp.  128-139. 

*Hodder,  E,  Conquests  of  the  Crosf<.  A  Record  of  Missionary  Work 
Throughout  the  World.  3  vols.  1890.  Illustrating  Chs.  V.,  VI.:  con- 
sult index  in  vol.   iii.,   under  India. 

»  Holcomb,  H.  H.  Men  of  Might  in  India  Missions.  1901.  Illustrating  Ch. 
v.:    chs.  i.  and  ix.  especially. 

Hope,  A.  R.  The  Story  of  the  Indian  Mutiny.  1S96.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.: 
throughout. 

♦Hopkins,  E.  W.  The  Religions  of  India.  1895.  Illustrating  Chs.  I.  and 
III.:    ch.  ii.     ForCh.  II.:    chs.  iii.-xvi.    For  Ch.  IV.:    chs.  xvii,  xviii. 

« Hopkins,  S.  Armstrong-.  Within  the  Purdah.  1898.  Illustrating  Ch.  III. : 
Books  i.  and  ii.  (interiors  and  the  life  of  women  of  higher  classes). 
For  Ch.  VI.:  Books  i.  and  ii.  (medical  work  among  higher  classes);  pp. 
238-247   (the  more  general  medical  work). 

Ecrne,  C.  fi.  The  Story  of  the  L[ondon]  M[issionary]  S[ociety].  1795-1895. 
1895.     Illustrating  Ch.  V.:    ch.  Iv.   (early  work);    oh.  x.   (later  work). 

•  ."^ough,  J.  The  History  of  Christianity  in  India  from  the  Commencement 
of  the  Christian  Era.  2  vols.  1889.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.:  vol.  i.,  pp. 
4-29.  For  Ch.  V.:  pp.  30-68  (introduction  of  Christianity);  pp.  69-68 
(Nestorianism) ;  pp.  89-117  (Islam  and  Christianity);  pp.  15S-211  (Xa- 
vier);  pp.  212-287  (Inquisition);  vol.  i.,  books  iii.,  Iv.  (Archbishop 
Menezes). 

*rHunter,  Wi  W.  A  Brief  History  of  the  Indian  Peoples.  22nd  ed.  1897. 
Illustrating  Ch.  I.:  ch.  i.  For  Ch.  II.:  chs.  ili.-xvi.  For  Ch.  III.: 
ch.  ii.     For  Ch.   IV.:   ch.  v,   (Buddhism);   ch.  viii.   (Hinduism). 

•»Hunt8r,  W.  "W.  The  Indian  Empire.  1892.  8rd  ed.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.: 
ch.  I.  (geography);  ch.  xxi.  (mines  and  minerals);  ch.  xxlii.  (meteor- 
ology, botany,  zoology);  ch.  xxv.  (vital  statistics).  For  Ch.  II.:  chs. 
lil.-xv.  (history  from  antiquity  to  present  time).  For  Ch.  III.:  ch.  il. 
(peoples);  ch.  xvii.  (agricult^^re) ;  clis.  xix.,  xx.  (commerce  and  trade, 
arts  (ind  manufactures);  ch.  xvi.  (British  admlnisi ration).  For  Ch. 
IV.:  pp.  257-278  (Hinduism  in  the  making);  pp.  205-208  (Jains);  for 
Buddhism,  consult  subheads  of  Buddhism  in  Index.     For  Ch.  V.:  eh.  ix, 

»  Hurst,  J.  F.  Indika.  1891.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.;  chs.  vii..  viii.:  ch.  Iviii.. 
(famines).  For  Ch.  II.:  ch.  vi.  For  Ch.  III.:  ch.  xi.  (wild  tribes); 
ch.  ix.,  Ixxxvi.  (government);  chs.  llx..  Ix.  (Indian  industries  and  pov- 
erty). For  Ch.  IV.:  ch.  xiii.  (Parsees);  chs.  xiv.,  xv..  xix.,  Ixxxl. 
(temples);  ch.  xlvi.  (various  religions);  chs.  liv.,  Iv.  Uhe  Samajes); 
chs.  Ixi.,  Ixii.  (Benares);  chs.  Ixxi.-lxxiv.  (Agra,  the  Tuj,  Delhi);  ch. 
xxiii.  (Blavatsky-Olcott  theosophy). 
•India,  Ceylon.  Straits  Settlements,  British  North  Borneo.  Hong-kong. 
1S99.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.:  pp.  1-204.  For  Ch.  II.:  p?».  295-.^05  (ancient 
India).  For  Ch.  III.:  pp.  304-."74  (Hindu  women);  pp.  375-3S4  (Mo- 
hammedan  women);   j»p.  ;:S5-."!:0   (Parsoe  women). 

Jackson,  J.  Mary  Reed,  Missionary  to  the  Lepers,  1899.  Illustrating  Ch. 
VI.:  leper  work. 

*» Jones,  J.  P.  India's  Problem.  Krishna  or  Christ.  1903.  Illustrating  Ch- 
ill.: pp.  15-53  (people,  education.  Government);  ch.  v.  (woman). 
For  Ch.  IV.:  ch.  ii.  (religions);  eh.  ill.  (Hniiduism  and  Christlanitr 
compared);  ch.  iv.  (products  of  the  two  faitlis).  For  Ch.  V.:  ch.  vl. 
For  Ch.  VI.:  ch.  vii.  (the  missionary);  ch.  viii.  (organized  activities); 
eh.  ix.  (problems).    For  Ch.  VIII.:  chs.  x.,  xi.   (results). 

Judson,  E.  The  Life  of  Adoniram  .Tnd^on.  1883.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.: 
ch.  iv.  For  Ch,  IV.:  pp.  64-73  (Buddhism).  For  Ch.  V.:  throughout. 
for  Burma.     For  Ch,  VI,:   Appendix  F.    (wayside  preaching). 

«  Kellogg,  S.  H.  A  Ilandliook  of  Comparative  Religion.  1899.  Illustrating 
Gh,  IV.:  pp.  16-34  (doctrine  of  God);  pp.  40-56  (doctrine  of  sin);  pp. 


APPENDIX  A  3CX) 

65-89    (salvation);    pp.    05-114    (the    future);    pp.    118-139    (practical 
murals). 

"Kennedy,  J.  Memoir  of  Marparet  Stephen  Kennedy.  1892.  lUuatrating 
Ch.  VI.:  throughout,  for  woman's  work  in  Northern  India. 

t Lawrence,  E.  A.  Modern  Missions  in  the  East:  Their  Methods,  Successes, 
and  Limitations.     1S94.    Illustrating  C^is.  IV.-VI.:  ch.  iv. 

tLeonowens,  A.  H.  Life  and  Travel  in  India.  1884.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.: 
chs.  v.,  vl.  (Parsees). 

'Lovett,  E.  The  History  of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  1795-1895. 
1899.  Illustrating  Chs.  V.-VIII. :  very  valuable  in  sections  on  India; 
consult  Index. 

*r  Lyall,  A.  C.  Asi£^tIc  Studios.  1882.  Illustrating  Ch.  HI.:  ch.  vil. 
fcaste).  For  Ch.  IV.:  chs.  i.-iii.,  v.  (Hinduism);  ch.  Ix.  (Islam); 
ch.  xi.  (religious  situation).  For  Ch,  VII.:  ch.  x.  (Governraenfs  re- 
ligious policy  in  India). 

*Macdonell,  A.  A.  A  History  of  Sanskrit  Literature.  1900.  Illustrating 
Ch.  II.:   throughout. 

'Marshman,  J.  C.  Memoirs  of  Major-General  Sir  Henry  Havelock,  K.  C.  B. 
1867.     Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  throughout,  for  Sepoy  Mutiny. 

♦rMarshman,  J.  C.  The  History  of  India.  3  vols.  1867.  Illustrating  Ch. 
II. :  especially  from  976  A.  D.  to  1858. 

•"Maxwell,  E.  B.  The  Bisl^op's  Conversion.  1892.  Illustrating  Ch.  VI.: 
especially  good  as  an  apologetic  for  missions  and  for  vivid  pictures 
of  the  work. 

Menzieg,  A.  History  of  Religion.  1895.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.:  chs.  liv.. 
iviii.  (early  Aryan  religion).  For  Ch.  IV.:  ch.  xill.  (Islam);  ch.  lix. 
(Brahmanism) ;  ch.  xx.  (Buddhism). 

•"Missionary  Conference:  South  India  and  Ceylon,  1879.  2  vols.  1880. 
lUustr^^ting  Ch.  IV.:  vol.  i.,  pp.  293-320  (danger  of  coming  out  of 
heathenism);  ch.  xl.  (Mohammedanism).  For  Ch.  V.:  vol.  il..  pp. 
1-296  (historical  sketches  of  societies);  pp.  329-340  (Catholic  missions). 
For  Ch,  VI.:  vol.  i.,  pp.  5-30  (vernacular  evangelistic  work);  pp.  30-GT 
(new  converts) ;  pp.  68-103  (higher  education) ;  pp.  104-138  (educated 
Hindus  and  how  reached) ;  pp.  139-155  (middle  and  lower  class  educa- 
tion); pp.  156-192  (female  education);  pp.  193-234  (Sunday  school* 
.Mnd  Bible  classes) ;  pp.  235-252  (orphanages  and  Industrial  work) ;  pp. 
2,W-268  (medical  work);  pp.  270-293,  .399-404  (native  Church);  pp. 
346-397  (native  ministry);  pp.  404-421  (colportage). 
Mlsslonarv  Review  of  the  World.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.  1898:  Jan.,  pp. 
36-41;  Feb.,  pp.  119-122  (famine  and  plague);  Aug.,  pp.  580-587  (dis- 
satisfaction with  Government). 

For  Ch.  II.  1891:  Feb.,  pp.  108-117  (Buddha  and  Christ).  —  1894: 
Mar.,  pp.  179-187.  Apr.,  pp.  254-258  (early  religions).  —  1898:  May, 
pp.  326-332  (Jainism). 

For  Ch.  IIL  1890:  Apr.,  pp.  248-254  (life  among  Karens).  —  l'^04: 
Feb.. pp.  99-102 (caste  women):  Apr.,  pp.  267-270  (child  marriage);  Apr., 
pp.  445-447  (hill  tribes).  —  1895:  Apr.,  pp.  276-279  (Pariahs).  —  1897: 
Apr.,  pp.  260-263  fcaste);  May,  pp.  368-371  (Savara  hill  tribe).  —  1S9S: 
Apr.,  pp.  249-256  (women);  Apr.,  pp.  256-261  (sweeper  ca.-<te).  —  1S99: 
Dec,  pp.  907-915  (village  system).  —  1900:  May.  pp.  355-359  (Hindus 
of  South  India).  —  1901:  Apr.,  pp.  264-267  (the  Todas).  —  1903:  Jan., 
pp.  16-22  (Gonds). 

For  Ch.  IV.  1890:  Jy..  pp.  501-507  (the  Samajes).  — 1891:  Apr.. 
PP.  274-276  fKhasl  traditions  of  Creation).  —  1893:  Apr.,  pp.  241-248 
(Brahmanism);  May.  pp.  329-336  (Hinduism).  —  1895:  Apr.,  pp.  260- 
267  (19th  century  reformers);  May,  pp.  331-339  (Idolatr.v).  —  1S06: 
Apr.,  pp.  260-265  (Hinduism's  changed  front).  —  1897:  Apr.,  pp.  21.S- 
252  (Hinduism).  —  1898:  Nov.,  pp.  827-833  (doctrine  of  sacrlf ioe> . — 
1R99:  Apr.,  pp.  273-276  (Benares).  —  1901 :  Apr.,  pp.  271-275  (sacred 
trees  and  rivers).  —  1903:    May,  pp.  321-328  (Mohammedanism). 

For  Ch.  V.  1889:  .Tan.,  po.  14-20  (Martyn>;  Dec,  pp.  720-7.33 
(CarevK  —  1891:  Apr.,  pp.  241-249  (Jesuit  work);  Mar.,  pp.  172-179, 
Apr..  247-254  (Chrlstlanltv  In  India).  —  1896:  Oct.,  pp.  750-757  (Mala- 
bar Svrians).  —  1902:  Apr.,  pp.  276-281  (Lacrolx).  — - 1903:  Feb.,  pp. 
112-118  (Catholic  view  of  India). 


310 


APPENDIX  A 


For  Ch.  VI.  ISOl:  Sept..  pp.  661-669  (education).  —  1S92:  Oct.. 
pp.  7G7-769  (rescue  work).  —  1894:  Apr.,  pp.  281-284  (woman's  medical 
training);  Dec,  pp.  921-923  (higher  education).  — 1895:  Aug.,  pp. 
686-588  (theological  schools).  —  1897:  Apr.,  pp.  273-279  (woman's 
work);  Apr.,  pp.  280-282  (woman's  medical  school).  —  1898:  Dec,  pp. 
897-903  (educated  classes).  —  1899:  Aug.,  pp.  599-602  (Agra  Medical 
Institute). —  1901:  Jy.,  pp.  522-525  (mission  colleges).  —  1902:  Jy.. 
pp.  513-518  (literature). —  1903:  May,  pp.  367-371,  Oct.,  pp.  758-763 
(industrial  missions). — 1903:  Dec,  pp.  922-927  (reaching  educated 
Hindus). 

For  Ch.  VII.  1888:  Jan.,  pp.  16-22  (problems);  Apr.,  pp.  257-261 
(Ongole  reyival).  —  1891:  May,  pp.  328-340  (Karen  revival).  —  1892: 
Apr.,  pp.  291-297  (N.  India  mass  movements);  Apr.,  pp.  297-299  (Arya 
Samaj).  —  1894:  Jan.,  pp.  50-53  (mass  movements):  Apr.,  pp.  270- 
274  (education);  Sept.,  pp.  663-667  (charge  of  failure).  —  1895:  Dec, 
pp.  924-928  (N.  India  mass  movements).  — 1898:  Dec,  pp.  881-897 
(educational  missions).  —  1900:  Dec.  pp.  951-953  (Christ  owned  and 
disowned).  —  1901:  Oct.,  pp.  774-777  (mass  movements).  — 1902: 
Oct.,  pp.  764-767  (industrial  expositions). 

For  Oh.  Vin.  1892:  Dec,  pp.  927-932  (attitude  of  educated 
Hindus).  —  1893:  Apr.,  pp.  248-255,  Jy.,  pp.  517-523,  Aug.,  pp.  595- 
601  (the  outlook). —  1896:  Oct.,  pp.  760-764  (power  of  Gospel).— 
1897:  Apr.,  pp.  207-273  (results).  —  1898:  Apr.,  pp.  278-282  (Rama- 
bal's  widows);  Dec,  pp.  585-587  (America's  responsibility).  — 1899: 
June,  pp.  429-434,  Sept.,  pp.  677-681  (status  and  results).  —  1900:  Apr., 
pp.  263-269  (India  as  a  mission  field) .  — 1901 :  May,  pp.  338-347 
(Ramabal's  widows).  —  1902:  Apr.,  pp.  241-248  (signs  of  awakening); 
Apr.,  pp.  271-276  (progress  in  S.  India);  Sept.,  pp.  696-698  (possibil- 
ities). — 1903:  Feb.,  pp.  137,  138  (India  to-day);  Apr.,  p.  261  (appeal 
for  9000  missionaries);  May,  pp.  871-876  (Dr.  Hall  in  India);  Aug.,  pp. 
583-586  (revival  in  India).  — 1903:  Dec,  p.  931  (changes  In  twenty 
years). 

nMitchell,  J.  M.  Hinduism,  Past  and  Present.  1885.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.: 
chs.  i,-ix.     For  Ch.  IV.:  chs.  x.-xv. 

nMitchell,  J.  M.,  editor.  Once  Hindu,  now  Christian:  the  Early  Life  of 
Baba  PadmanjI;  an  Autobiography.  No  date.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.: 
ch.  Ix.  (native  view  of  Hinduism).  For  Chs.  VI.,  VII.:  throughout 
shows  how  men  are  won  and  their  difficulties  and  labors. 

^Mitchell,  Mrs.  M.  Scenes  in  Southern  India.  No  date.  Illustrating  Ch. 
III.:  ch.  XXV.  (the  Todas).  For  Ch.  V.:  ch.  xxi.  (the  Black  and  White 
Jews);  ch.  vi.  (early  missions).  For  Ch.  VI.:  throughout,  for  work  In 
Southern  India. 

»Modak,  S.  Directory  of  Protestant  Indian  Christians.  2  vols.  1900.  Il- 
lustrating Ch.  VIII.:  vol.  i.,  pp.  lil.-xxvi..  and  vol.  li..  Appendix. 

•^  Mott,  J.  R.  Strategic  Points  in  the  World's  Conquest.  1897.  Illustra- 
ting Chs.  VI.  and  VIII.:  chs.  vlli.-x.  (especially  In  the  student  work). 

•Muir,  J.  Original  Sanskrit  Texts  on  the  Origin  and  History  of  the  People 
of  India.  5  vols.  1872.  Illustrating  Chs.  II.  and  IV.:  throughout, 
especially  vol.  i.  for  history  and  vol.  v.   for  deities. 

Muir,  W.,  and  Others.  Present-Day  Tracts  on  the  Non-Christian  Religions 
of  the  World.  No  date.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  tract  xiv.  (Islam); 
tract  XXV.  (Parsees);  tract  xxxili.  (Hinduism);  tract  xlvi.  (Buddhism). 

»MUller,  F.  Max-.  India:  What  Can  It  Teach  Us?  1883.  Illustrating  Ch. 
II.:  lectures  lii.-vl.  (literature  and  religions).  For  Cb.  III.:  lectures 
i.,  ii.    For  Ch.  VH.:  lecture  vii.  (Veda  and  Vedanta). 

♦Miiller,  F.  Max-,  editor.  Sacred  books  of  the  East.  Various  dates.  Illus- 
trating Chs.  II.  and  IV.  All  but  four  of  the  forty -nine  volumes  are 
translations  of  books  having  to  do  with  Hinduism,  Buddhism,  Moham- 
medanism, Parseelsra.  and  Jainlsm. 

♦"Murdoch,  J.  Indian  Missionary  Manual.  Hints  to  Young  Missionaries  In 
India.  The  paging  of  the  four  editions  varies.  Extremely  v.iluable  for 
entire  text-book,  especially  for  ch.  vl.    Consult  Index  and  Contents. 

mMurdcch,  J.  The  Brahma  Samaj  and  Othor  Modern  Eclectic  Systems  of 
UelIe:ion  in  India.     18!<.3.     Illustrating  Chs.  IV.,  VII.:  throughout. 

■Murdoch,   J.     The  Women  of  India  and  What  can  be   Done  for  Them, 


APPENDIX  A  31 1 


ISOS.  Illustrating  Ch.  III.:  pp.  1-10  (estimate  and  stahis  of  wompn>; 
pp.  54-83  (luuriiuge  cusluuis) ;  pp.  S3-'J0  (Hindu  family  system);  pii. 
110-135  (widows).  For  Ch.  VI.:  pp.  19-54  (female  education);  pp. 
108-116  (literature  for  women). 

»  Murdoch,  J.  Selections  from  the  Koran:  with  an  Introduction,  Copious 
Explanatory  Notes  and  a  Review  of  the  Whole.  18U0.  Illustrating 
Oil.  IV.;  for  Mohammedanism,  especially  thiit  of  India. 

*n2«urdoch,  J.  Sliotches  of  Indian  Christians.  1896.  Illustratingr  Chs.  VI.: 
and  VIII.:   tiie  booli  throughout. 

Myers,  J.  B.     William  Carey.     No  date.     Illustrating  Ch.  V.:  Ihrouphout. 

Oldenbsrg,  H.  Ancient  India,  Its  Lanjjuages  and  lieligi;jns.  ISOS.  Illus- 
trating Ch.  II.:  pp.  43-77  (Vedlc  religion);  pp.  78-105  (Buddhism). 

Padmanji:  see  Mitchell,  J.  M.,  editor. 

Page,  J.     Ilenry  Martyn.     No  date.     Illustrating  Ch.  V,:  clis.  iv.-vii. 

""I'apers  on  Indian  Reform  —  Christianity  explained  to  a  Hindu,  or  fhris- 
tinnity  and  Heathenism  Compared.  1893.  Illustrating  Chs.  IV.  and 
VI. 

Periodical  Literature.  Many  valualde  articles  bearing  on  India  are  found 
In  the  secular  periodicals.  Consult,  under  India,  the  Annual  Literary 
Index.  Cumulative  Index  to  Periodicals,  and  Poole's  Index  to  Periodi- 
cal Literature. 

Pierson,  A.  T.  The  Miraelas  of  Missions.  Third  Series.  1899.  Illustra- 
ting Ch.  VIIL:  ch.  xiii.     (Ramab.il's  work). 

♦Powell,  H.  H.  Baden-,  The  Indian  Village  Community.  1896.  Illustra- 
ting Ch.  III. 

Proceedings  of  the  Conference  on  Foreign  Missions,  Mildmay  Park,  Lon- 
don. 188G.  1886.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  pp.  23-28  (Mohammedans). 
For  Chs.  VI.,  VIII.:  pp.  76-94. 

"  Proceedings  of  the  General  Conference  on  Foreign  Missions,  MHdmay  Park, 
London,  1878,  1879.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  pp.  161-168  (Mohammedan- 
ism and  Hinduism  vs.  Christianity).  For  Ch.  V.:  pp.  117-121.  For 
Ch.  VL:  pp.  124-125  (education).  For  Ch.  VII.:  pp.  32.3-333  (Moham- 
medan missions). 

"•Proceedings  of  the  Union  Missionary  Convention,  held  in  New  York,  Mny 
4th  and  5th,  1854.  together  with  the  Address  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Duff. 
1854.  Illustrating  Chs.  VI.,  VIIL:  pp.  31-60  (general  survey  and  ex- 
hortation). 

E^ogress.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  Nov.,  1S97  (Hinduism);  Jan.,  1898  (Bud- 
dhism,   Parsees);    Feb.,    1898    (Mohammedanism). 

"Protestant  Missions  in  India,  Burma,  and  Cevlou,  Statistical  Tables,  1900, 
1902.     Illustrating  Ch.  VIIL:  throufrhout. 

nRamakrishna,  T.  Life  in  an  Indian  Village.  1891.  Illustrating  Ch.  III.: 
throughout,  from  native  viewpoint.  For  Ch.  IV. :  chs.  xi.-xiv.  (sketches 
of  religious  life). 

•Ratzel,  F.  The  History  of  Mankind.  3  vols.  1898.  Illustrating  Cli.  IIL: 
vol.  ill.,  pp.  371-394  (common  life,  caste,  etc.);  pp.  430-437  (hill  tribes, 
especially  in  Burma). 

•Reclus,  E.  The  Earth  and  its  Inhabitants.  Asia  1891.  Illustrating 
Chs.  I.  and  III.:  vol.  iii.,  chs.  i.-xv. :  exceedingly  picturesque  and  help- 
ful throughout. 

'  Rees,  J.  D.     The  Muhammadans,  1001-1761.     1894.     Illustrating  Ch.  II. 

*""  Report  of  the  Centenary  Conference  of  the  Protestant  Missions  of  the 
World,  held  in  Exeter  Hall  (June  9th-19th),  London,  1888.  2  vols. 
1889.  For  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  vol.  i.,  pp.  12-17,  28.  29  (Mohammeda'i- 
ism) ;  pp.  33-40  (Buddhism) ;  pp.  40-50  (Jalnism) ;  pp.  50-60  (Hinduism 
and  Christianity);  pp.  60-66  (Parseeism).  For  Ch.  VL:  vol.,  li.  pp. 
126-132  (medical  missions);  pp.  147-151  (woman's  work;  pp.  192-198 
212-216.  230-246.  253-2.56  (education);  pp.  2.58-266  (literature);  350-3r.6 
(general  methods);  369-376  (training  workers);  pp.  411-415  (Industrliil 
training).    For  Ch.  VII.:  vol.  li.,  pp.  51-81  (polygamy  question). 

*«Rpport  of  the  Fourth  Decennial  Indian  Mlssionarv  Conference,  hold  in 
Madras,  December  11-18,  1902.  1903.  Illustrating  Ch.  VL:  pp.  18-.36 
(native  Church);  pp.  36-49  (ministry  and  its  training);  pp.  49-61  (work 
for  young);  pp.  ,65-79  (evangelistic  work);  pp.  84-96  (educational 
work) ;  99-118,  258-263  (women's  work) ;  pp.  120-130  (medical  work,  iO' 


312  APPENDIX   A 

eluding  that  for  lepers) ;  pp.  138-153  (industrial  work) ;  pp.  167-201 
(literary  and  Bible  work).  For  Ch.  VIII.:  pp.  202-207  (appeal  to  home 
churches);  pp.  217-224  (statistical  review  1891-1900);  pp.  248-257  (mis- 
sions in  Burma).  For  Chs.  IV.  and  VII.:  pp.  264-350  (religious  move- 
ments among  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  in  last  decade). 

*>n  Report  of  the  Third  Decennial  Missionary  Conference,  held  at  Bombay, 
1892-93.  2  vols.  1893.  Illustrating  Cli.  IV.:  pp.  782-795  (transmigra- 
tion). For  Ch,  VI.:  pp.  5-55  (work  among  depressed  classes);  pp.  96- 
119  (leper  work);  pp.  120-177  (native  Church);  pp.  178-225  (religious 
training  of  the  young) ;  pp.  258-313  (work  for  educated  classes) ;  pp. 
314-369  (woman's  work);  pp.  370-412  (ti'aining  of  native  ministi'y;; 
pp.  413-477  (education  as  a  missionary  agency);  pp.  478-510  (industrial 
work) ;  pp.  541-589  (missions  and  social  conditions) ;  pp.  664-740  (Chris- 
tian literature). 

Reports  of  the  Boards  of  Missions  of  the  Provinces  of  Canterbury  and 
York  on  the  Mission  Field.  1894.  Illustrating  Chs.  V.-VIII.:  pp. 
141-259  (special  reference  to  Church  of  England  missions,  though  ad- 
mii-able  for  others  and  especially  for  problems). 

"Rice,  H.  Native  Life  in  South  India:  Being  Sketches  of  the  Social  and 
Religious  Characteristics  of  the  Hindus.  No  Date.  Illustrating  Ch. 
III.:  chs.  ii.-v.  (castes  and  customs);  ch.  viii.  (woman);  ch.  ix.  (char- 
acter). For  Ch.  IV.:  chs.  vi.,  vii.  For  Ch.  VI.:  chs.  x.,  xi.  (educa- 
tional evangelistic  work).     For  Ch.   VIII.:    ch.   xil. 

Roberts,  A.,  and  J.  Donaldson,  editors.  The  Ante-Nicene  Fathers.  9  vols. 
American  edition.  1890.  Illustrating  Ch.  V.:  vol.  viii.,  pp.  535-552 
(early  traditions  of  St.  Thomas). 

mRowe,  A.  D.  Every-Day  Life  in  India.  1881.  Illustrating  Ch.  III.: 
chs.  I.,  ii.  (people  and  home  life);  chs.  ix.,  i.  (women  and  marriage); 
chs.  xviii.,  xix.  (festivals  and  amusements);  chs.  xxvi,  xxvii.  (farm- 
ing); ch.  XXXV.  (the  travelled  Hindu).  For  Ch.  IV.:  ch.  lii.  (religion 
of  Hindus);  chs.  iv.,  v.  (caste).  For  Ch.  VI.:  ch.  xxxviii.  For  Ch. 
VII.:  ch.  xL  (caste  and  converts).  For  Ch.  VIII.:  eh.  xxxix.  (pros- 
pects). 

mRussell,  N.  Village  Work  in  India.  1902.  Illustrating-  Ch.  VI.:  good 
throughout,  especially  for  evangelistic  work.  For  Ch.  VIII.:  ch.  xv. 
(India's  need  and  how  to  meet  it). 

mScott,  T.  J.  Missionary  Life  Among  the  Villages  in  India.  1876.  Il- 
lustrating Ch.  VI.,  throughout  for  the  daily  life  in  North  India, 
especially  for  Itineration. 

*mSherring,  M.  A.,  and  E.  Storrow.  The*  History  of  Protestant  Missions 
in  India,  from  the  Commencement  to  1881.  1884.  Illustrating  Ch. 
v.:  throughout,  but  especially  ch.  i.  for  work  in  eighteenth  century. 
For  Ch.  VIII.:   ch.   xx.    (results  twenty  years  ago). 

oTSimpson,  A.  B.  Larger  Outlooks  on  Missionary  Lands.  1893.  Illus- 
trating Ch.  VI.:  chs.  x.-xvi.  (methods  and  general  conditions  of  work). 

*">  Slater,  T.  E.  The  Higher  Hinduism  in  Relation  to  Christianity.  1902, 
Illustrating  Chs.  II.,  IV.:  throughout.  For  Ch.  VII.:  ch.  ii.  (present 
Hindu  revival  and  modern  Samajes). 

mSmall,  A.  H.  Suwarta  and  Other  Sketches  of  India  Life.  1894.  Illus- 
trating Ch.  VI.:  good  throughout  for  woman's  work,  especially  in  Mo- 
hammedan  sections. 

or  Smith,  G.     Bishop  Heber.     1895.     Illustrating  Ch,  V.:  throughout. 

*or Smith,  G.  Henry  Martyn,  Saint  and  Scholar,  no  data.  Illustrating 
Ch.   v.:   chs.   Iv.-vii. 

o'Smith,    G.     Stephen    Hislop.     2nd    edition.     1889.     Illustrating    Ch.    VI. 

*or  Smith,  G.  The  Conversion  of  India,  from  Pantaenus  to  the  Present 
Time,  A.  D.  193-1893.  No  date.  Illustrating  Ch.  V,:  ch.  il.  (the 
Greek  attempt);  ch.  iii.  (the  Roman  attempt);  ch.  iv.  (Xavier  and 
his  successors);  pp.  76-81  (the  Dutch  attempt);  ch.  v.  (British  East 
India  Company's  preparation);  ch.  vl.  (Britain's  attempt);  ch.  vil. 
(co-operation  of  the  United  States).  For  Ch,  VI,:  ch.  vi.  (methods). 
For  Ch.  VIII.:  ch.  Ix.  (results);  ch.  x.  (prospects). 

*»»  Smith,  G.  The  Life  of  Alexander  Duff,  D.D.,  LL.D.  2  vols.  No 
date.  Illustrating  Ch.  VI.:  throughout  for  educational  missions, 
especially  chs,  v,-viii.     One  volume  edition  of  above.     1900. 


APPENDIX  A  313 

*"  Smith,  G.  The  Life  of  WllHam  Carey,  D.D.,  Shoemaker  and  Mis- 
sionary.    1SS7.     Illustratingr   Chs.    V.    and    VI.:    throughout. 

•'  Speer,  R.  E.  Missions  and  Politics  in  Asia.  1898.  lUustratinjr  Ch.  V.: 
pp.  83-112. 

™  Spiritual  Awakening  among  India's  Students.  1896.  Illustrating:  Ch. 
VIII.:    Part  II..   especially   pp.  69-78.   95-101. 

•Spottiswoode,  G.  A.,  editor.  The  Official  Report  of  the  Missionary  Con- 
ference of  the  Anglican  Communion,  1894.  1894.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.: 
pp.  93-99  (Hinduism);  pp.  100-107  (Buddhism).  For  Ch.  VI.:  pp.  352- 
363  (associate  missions  and  family  life) ;  pp.  377-394  (educational 
work);  pp.  407-411  (medical  work);  pp.  486-500  (native  agency).  For 
Ch.  VII.:  pp.  lSS-191,  203-200  (support);  pp.  191-192.  195-203  "(caste .1 ; 
pp.   192-195   (marriage  of  converts);   pp.   281-303   (polygamy). 

« Stacy,  T.  H.  In  the  Path  of  Light  Around  the  World.  1895.  Illus- 
trating Chs.  v.,  VI.:  chs.  xi.,  xii.    (Free  Baptist  work). 

k'nStewart,  R.  Life  and  Work  in  India.  1890.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.:  ch.  Iv. 
(climate);  ch.  v.  (sanitary  conditions):  ch.  viii.  (roads  and  communi- 
cations). For  Ch.  III.:  ch.  iii.  (British  ru.e) ;  ch.  xii.  (Punjabis  and 
inhabitants  of  India  in  general) ;  ch.  vi.  (domestic  and  social  con- 
ditions), i'or  Ch.  VI.:  ch.  xiv.  (secular  work);  chs.  xv.-xix.,  xxi., 
xxii.  (evangelistic  work);  ch.  xxiii.  (lower  training  of  Christians); 
chs.  xxiv.,  XXV.  (higher  training  of  Christians);  ch.  xxvi.  (self-sup- 
port); ch.  xxviii.  (self-government  of  church).  Fcr  Ch.  VII.:  ch.  xx. 
(obstruction    and    persecution).     For    Ch.    VIII.:    ch.    xxix.    (outlook). 

*«  Stock,  E.  The  History  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  3  vols.  1800. 
Illustrating  Chs.  V.-VIII. :  very  valuable  in  sections  relating  to  India, 
for  which  see   Index. 

niStover,  W.  B.  India  a  Problem.  1902.  Illustrating  Ch.  III.:  chs.  li.. 
iiL  For  Ch.  IV.:  ch.  iv.  (Parsees) ;  ch.  v.  (Buddhists);  ch.  vi.  (Mo- 
hamm.idans);  ch.  vii.  (Hinduism);  ch.  viii.  (materials  for  comparative 
study).  For  Ch.  V.:  chs.  ix-xxi.  (summary  of  work  of  principal 
societies).     For  Ch.   VIII.:    ch.    xxiv.    (New   India). 

mStudent  Missionary  Appeal,  The.  Addresses  at  the  Third  International 
Conveutiou  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  for  Foreign  Missions, 
1898.     1S98.     Illustrating   Chs.    VI.,    VIII.:    pp.   305-323. 

"Student  Missionary  Enterprise,  The.  Addresses  and  Discussions  of  the 
Second  International  Convention,  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement 
for  Foreign  Missions.  1894.  Illustrating  Chs.  VI.  and  VIII,:  pp. 
270-283. 

•n.Swami  Vivekananda  and  His  Guru:  with  Letters  from  Prominent  Amer- 
icans in  the  Alleged  Progress  of  Vedantism  in  the  United  States.  1807. 
Illustrating  Chs.  IV.  and  VII.:  throughout. 

rTemple,  R.  India  in  1880.  1881.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.:  ch.  ii.  (scenery); 
ch.  xvii.  (natural  resources);  ch.  xix.  (health  and  sanitation);  ch.  xx. 
(famines).  For  Ch.  III.:  «-h.  vi.  (material  progress  of  Hindus);  ch.  vii. 
(mental  and  moral  progress);  ch.  viii.  (national  education);  ch.  xxi. 
(learned  research);  chs.  x.-xiii.  (laws,  crime,  taxes,  revenues).  For 
Ch.   v.:   ch.   ix.    (religions   establishments   and   mis<:ions). 

•"Sacred  Books  of  the  East  Described  and  Examined.  Hindu  series.  3  vols. 
Various  dates.  Illustrating  Chs.  II.  and  IV. :  both  ancient  and  modern 
Hinduism. 

°>  Thoburn,  J.  M.  India  and  Malaysia.  1892.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.:  chs. 
i..  ii.,  iv.  For  Ch.  III.:  ch.  ii.  For  Ch.  IV.:  ch.  v.;  ch.  vi.  (Hinduism); 
ch.  vii.  (Buddhism);  ch.  viii.  (Mohammedanism);  ch.  x.  (new  religions 
movements).  For  Ch.  V.:  chs.  xi.-xv.  For  Ch.  VI.:  ch.  xxiv.  (mission 
schools);  ch.  xxv.  (Sunday  schools);  chs.  xxvi. -xxix.  (woman's  work, 
including  educational  and  medical). 

""Thoburn,  J.M.    Light  In  the  East.  1894.  Illustrating  Ch.  VI.:  throughout. 

> Thompson,  R.  "W.,  and  A.  N.  Johnson.  British  Foreign  Missions.  IS'*-- 
1897.  1899.  Illustrating  Ch.  V.:  pp.  28-40  (growth  in  India).  For  Ch. 
VI.:  pp.  129-136  (education);  pp.  147-153  (literature);  pp.  185-187  (nud- 
Ical   missions);   pp.   188-205    (woman's  work). 

Thomson,  W.  B.  A  Memoir  of  William  Jackson  Elmslie.  1891.  Illus- 
trating Ch.   IV. :   throughout,    for  medical  work. 

«>Tisdall|  W.  St.  Clair,     Buddhism  at  Its  Best.     1903.     Illustrating  Ch,  I,: 


314  APPENDIX   A 


lecture   I.   (life  of  Buddha).     For  Ch.   IV.:   throughout,   especially   lec- 
ture Iv.    (Buddhism  and  Christianity). 

•mTisdall,  "W.  St.  Clair-.  India:  Its  History.  Darlcness  and  Dawn.  1901. 
Illustrating'  Ch.  II.:  pp.  1-51.  For  Ch.  IV.:  pp.  52-65  (Hinduism);  pp. 
66-76  (Buddhism);  pp.  77-87  (Mohammedanism).  For  Ch.  V.:  pp.  88- 
119.     Appendix  II.  contains  an  excellent  Indian  Bibliography. 

tTownsend,  M.  Asia  and  Europe.  1901.  Illustrating  Ch.  III.:  pp.  2(58- 
277  (variety  in  society);  pp.  227-234  (abstemiousness).  For  Ch.  VIII.: 
pp.  67-81    (criticism  of  Indian  missions). 

'Trotter,  L.  J.  History  of  India  from  the  Earliest  Times  to  the  Present 
Day.     1889.     Illustrating  Ch.   II.:    throughout. 

*Tucker,  H.  W.,  editor.  Classified  Digest  of  the  Records  of  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  1701-1892.  1893. 
Illustrating:  Chs.  V.,  VI.:  pp.  469-659  (excellent  for  worli  of  the 
Society). 

*"Warneck,  G.  Outline  of  a  History  of  Protestant  Missions  from  the  Ref- 
ormation to  the  Present  Time.  Seventh  edition.  1901.  lUustratingr 
Ch.  V. :  pp.  248-266. 

♦Wayland,  F.  A  Memoir  of  the  Life  and  Labors  of  the  Rev.  Adonlram 
Judson,  D.D.  2  vols.  1853.  Illustrating  Ch.  IV.:  vol.  i.,  pp.  138-153; 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  407-419  (Buddhism  in  Burma).  For  Ch.  V.:  throughout 
for  Burma.  For  Ch.  VI.;  vol.  ii  ,  ch.  iv.  (translational  work);  pp. 
448-458  (translation  of  Burmese  tract);  pp.  502-518  (wayside  preach- 
ing). 

1  yherry,  E.  M.     Zeinab,  the  Punjabi.     1895.     Illustrating  Ch.  VI. :  through- 

out,  showing  the  effect  of  the  Gospel  on  a  Mohammedan  widow. 
i  Williams,  M.  Monier-.  Brahmanism  and  Hinduism,  4th  ed.  1891.  Illus- 
trating Ch.  II.:  chs.  i.,  ii.  (Vedism,  Brahmanism);  ch.  xiii.  (ancient 
family  life).  For  Ch,  III.:  ch.  xviil.  (caste  and  occupations).  For 
Ch.  IV.:  throughout.  For  Ch.  VII.:  chs.  xix.,  xx.  (modern  theism  and 
reformers). 

t  Williams,  M.  Monier-.  Hinduism.  No  date.  Illustrating  Ch.  II.:  chs. 
i.-vii.  For  Ch.  III.:  ch.  xi.  (modern  caste).  For  Ch.  IV.:  ch.  x. 
(medifTval  and  modern  sects);  ch.  xli.   (modern  idol  worship,  etc.). 

Wilson,  Mrs.  A.  Carus-.  A  Woman's  Life  for  Kashmir,  Irene  Petrie.  1901. 
Illustrating  Ch.  VI.:  throughout,  for  woman's  work  in  Northern  India. 

*r Wilson,  J.    Indian  Caste.    2  vols.    1877.    Illustrating  Ch.  III.:  throughout. 

Wintle,  W.  J.,  editor.  Dr.  J.  L.  Phillips,  Missionary  to  the  Children  of 
India.     1898.     Illustrating  Ch.  VI.:  throughout,  for  Sunday  school  work. 

«aWorld-Wide  Evangelization  the  Urgent  Business  of  the  Church.  Fourth 
International  Convention  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement.  1902. 
Illustrating  Ch.  VI.:  pp.  4S9-494  (evangelistic  work);  pp.  533-548 
(education).     For  Ch.  VHL:  pp.  89-93,  353-379. 

•"Youngson,  J.  W.  F.  Forty  Years  of  the  Punjab  Mission  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  1855-1895.  1896.  Illustrating  Ch.  I.:  ch.  1.  For  Ch. 
III.:  ch.  ii.  (village  system);  ch.  vii.  (social  customs);  ch.  xviil. 
(Chambra  people).  For  Ch.  V.:  ch,  xii.  (the  Mutiny),  For  Ch.  VI.: 
chs.  xxi.-xxx.  (medical  work);  ch.  xxiii.  (schools);  ch.  xxiv.  (bazaar 
preaching):  chs.  xxv.,  xxvi.  (itineration);  ch.  xxxl.   (woman's  work). 

o  Young,  R.  The  Success  of  Christian  Missions:  Testimonies  to  Thelt 
Beneficial  Results.    1890.    Illustratins;  Ch.  VIII.:  pp.  71-191. 

Since  the  foregoing  bibliography  was  prepared  a  great  wealth  of 
literature  has  appeared  dealing  with  India,  among  the  more  important 
books  being  the  following; 

Azariah,  V.   S.      "Missions  in  India." 

Carmichael,  Miss  Amy  Wilson.      "Overweights  of  Joy." 

Chamberlain,   Jacob.      "The   Kingdom  iu  India." 

Datta,  S.  K.      "The  Desire  of  India." 

Dyer,  Helen.      "The  Revival  in  India." 

Jones,  J.  P.      "India:      Its  Life  and  Thought." 

Lucas,   B.      "The   Empire  of  Christ." 

:Ni(ihammodan   World   of   Tc  day.      Report   of   the    Cairo    Conference. 

Mason,   Mrs.  C.  A.      "Lux  Christi." 

Montgomery,  Bishop  H.  H,,  editor.      "Mankind  and  the  Church." 


APPENDIX    A  315 

Morrison.   J.      "New  Ideas   in   India." 

Mylno,   Bishop  L.  G.      "Missions  to  the  Hindus." 

Oman,   J.   C.      "The    Brahmins,    Theists   and   Muslims    of   India." 

Richter,  Julius.      "A  History  of  Missions  in   India." 

fcjludents   and    the    Modern    ilissionary    Crusade.      Report    of    Nashville 

Convention. 
Thoburn,   Bishop   J.  M.      "The   Christian   Conquest  of  India." 
Wherry,  E.  M.      "Islam  and  Christianity  in  India  and  the  Far  East." 


3i6 


APPENDIX  B 


APPENDIX    B  —  Comparative 

Taken  from  Protestant  Missions  in 
Statistical  Tables,  1900, 


Summary,     1851-190O 

India,  Burma  and  Ceylon, 


Ordained   Agents,    Foreign 
and  Eurasian 


Ordained  Agents,  Asian... 

Catechists    or     Preachers, 
Asian   


Organized     Congregations, 
Asian   


Communicants,  Asian. 


Christian  Community, 
Asian   


Sunday-school     Pupils, 
Asian    


Tlieol.  and  Training  School 
Pupils,    Male 


College   and   Upper   School 
I'upils,    Male 


1851 


Lower  School  Pupils,  Male 

P.oarding       School,       etc.. 
Boarders,  Male 


Female     Agents,     Foreign 
and  Eurasian 


I'cniale  Agents,   Asian.... 

Training      School      Pupils, 
le.male 


nirls'   School  Pupils. 


Z(>nana  Pupils. 


P.oardlng       School,       etc.. 
Boarders,  Female 


339» 

21a 

493» 

2G7» 

.4661a 

91092a 


12401a 
38661* 


ITS 


11193a 


2274' 


1861 

1871 

1881 

1890 

501 

517 

622 

918 

143 

302 

575 

943 

1677 

2344 

2856 

3987 

643 

2031 

4180 

5495 

43415 

73330 

138254 

215759 

198100 

286987 

492882 

G48S43 

' 

65728 

144263 

0 

1561 

1321 

n« 

21676 

40911 

46099 

55063 

40164 

58278 

91047 

132312 

2988 

« 

e 

c 

c 

405 

522 

770 

• 

863 

1714 

3420 

c 

557 

« 

« 

17035 

25630 

48761 

73572 

0 

1997* 

9132a 

32659» 

4015 

0 

6717 

7604 

1900 


1049 

905b 

6653 

6535 

343906 

978936 

291752 

1810 

52597 

162645 

14975 

1302 

5965 

712 


13614 


»  No  returns  for  Burma.  >>  Returns  incomplete.  «  No  returns. 


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APPENDIX  C,  PART  I 


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APPENDIX  C^  PART  I 


Distribution  of  Societies  by  Provinces  and  Native  States 

Ajmere-Merwara.  —  Metbodist  Episcopal  Church;  United  Free  Church  of 
Scotlaud;  World' s  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

Assam.  —  American  Baptist  MIss'y  Union;  Assam  Frontier  Pioneer 
Mission;  Gossner's  Mission;  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland;  Welsh  Calvin- 
Istic  Methodists. 

Baluchistan.  —  Church  Miss'y  Society;  Church  of  Eng.  Zenana  Miss'y 
Soc;   Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

Baroda,  —  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Bengal.  —  Baptist  Miss'y  Society;  Baptist  Union  of  W.  Australia; 
Baptist  Zenana  Mission;  Bengal  Evangelistic  Mission;  Bengali  Mission; 
Bethel  Santhal  Mission;  British  and  For.  Bible  Society;  Chinsurah  and 
Tlooghly  Zen.  Mission;  Christian  Missions,  ("Brethren");  Christian 
Woman's  Bd.  of  Missions;  Church  Miss'y  Society;  Church  of  Eng.  Zenana 
Miss'y  Soc;  Church  of  Scotland  For,  Mission  Com.;  Free  Baptists;  Fun'ocd- 
pore  Mission;  Gen'l  Eldership,  Churches  of  God;  Gossner's  Mission;  Indian 
Home  Mission  to  tlie  Santhals;  India  Sunday  School  Union;  International 
Com.,  Y.  M.  C.  A.;  London  Miss'y  Society;  Methodist  Episcopal  Church; 
Miss'y  Pence  Assn.;  New  Zealand  Baptists;  Oxford  Mission  to  Calcutta; 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Eng,;  Queensland  Baptists  Ranaghat  Medical  Mis- 
sion; "  Regions  Beyond  "  Miss'y  Union;  Scandinavian  Alliance  Mission; 
Seventh-day  Advontists;  Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel;  United 
Free  Church  of  Scotland;  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor;  "Victorian 
Baptists;  Wesleyan  Methodist  Miss'y  Soc;  Woman's  Union  Miss'y  Society; 
World's  Y.  W.  C,   A. 

Berar.  —  Christian  and  Miss'y  Alliance;  Free  Methodists,  N.  A,; 
Kurku  and  Cen'l  Indian  Hill  Mission;  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Bombay. — American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions;  American  Seamen's 
Friend  Soc;  British  and  For.  Bible  Soc;  Christian  and  Miss'y  Alliance; 
Christian  Literature  Soc;  Christian  Missions,  ("  Brethren  ") ;  Church  Miss'y 
Soc;  Church  of  Eng.  Zenana  Miss'y  Soc;  Church  of  Scotland  For.  Mission 
Com,;  Evan,  Miss'y  Soc  in  Basel;  German  Baptist  Brethren;  London  Miss'y 
Soc;  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  National  Conn.,  Y,  M.  C,  A.;  Peniel 
Miss'y  Soc;  Poona  and  Indian  Village  Mission;  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Missions;  Presbyterian  Cliurch  In  Ireland;  Society  for  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel;  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland;  Wesleyan  Methodist  Miss'y  Soc; 
World's  Y.  W.  C.  A.;  Zenana  Bible  and  Medical  Mission. 

Burma.  —  American  Baptist  Miss'y  Union;  British  and  For.  Bible  Soc; 
China  Inland  Mission;  Evan.  Luth.  Mission  at  Leipzig;  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church;  Miss'y  Pence  Assn.;  National  Coim.,  Y.  M.  C.  A,;  Society  for 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel;  Wesleyan  Methodist  Miss'y  Soc;  World's 
Y.  W.  C,  A, 

Central  India.  —  American  Friends'  Bd,  of  For.  Missions;  Friends'  For. 
Mission  Assn.;  Presbyterian  Church,  Canada;  World's  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

Central  Provinces.  —  Balaghat  Mission;  Baptist  Miss'y  Soc;  Chris- 
tian Woman's  Bd.  of  Missions;  Church  Miss'y  Soc;  Church  of  Eng.  Zenana 
Miss'y  Soc;  Evan.  National  Soc;  Foreign  Christian  Miss'y  Soc;  Friends' 
For,  Mission  Assn.;  German  Evan,  Synod  of  N,  America;  Kurliu  and  Cen'l 
Indian  Hill  Mission;  Mennonite  Evangelizing  and  Benevolent  Bd, ;  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church;  Pentecost  Bands  of  the  World;  Representative  Ch,  Conn, 
of  the  Epis.  Ch.  in  Scotland;  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland;  United 
Original  Secession  Ch.  of  Scotland;  Wesleyan  Methodist  Miss'y  Soc; 
World's  Y.   W.   C.  A. 

Coorg.  —  Evan.  Miss'y  Soc,  in  Basel.  (Coorg  does  not  appear  in  the 
foregoing  table,  as  the  worlj  of  this  Society  in  the  province  could  not  be 
separated  from  its  work  in  Madras.) 

Haidarabad. — American  Baptist  Miss'y  Union;  Church  Miss'y  Soc; 
Church  of  Eng.  Zenana  Miss'y  Soc;  Methodist  Episcopal  Ckurch;  United 
Free  Church  of  Scotland;  Wesleyan  Methodist  Miss'y  Soc;  World's  Y.  W. 
C.  A.;  Zenana  Bible  and  Medical  Mission. 

Kashmir.  —  Church  Miss'y  Soc;  Church  of  Eng.  Zenana  Miss'y  Soc; 
Church  of  Scotland  For.  Mission  Com.;  Moravian  Missions;  Scandinavian 
Alliance  Mission. 


APPENDIX  C,  PART  I  319 

Madraa.  —  American  Adrent  Mission  Soc. ;  American  Baptist  Miss'y 
Union;  American  Board  of  For.  Missions;  Baptist  (Convention  of  Maritime 
Provs.;  Baptist  Convention  of  Outurio  and  Quebec;  Baptist  Miss'y  Soc; 
Baptist  Zenana  Mission;  British  and  For.  Bible  Soc;  Ceylon  and  India 
i^iou'l  Misision;  Christian  Literature  Soc;  Christian  Missions,  ("Breth- 
ren"); Church  Miss'y  Soc;  Church  of  Eng.  Zenana  Miss'y  Soc;  Church  of 
Scotland  For.  Mission  Com.;  Dani-sh  Miss'y  Soc;  Evan.  Luth.  Church,  Gen'l 
Synod;  Evan.  Luth.  Mission  at  Leipzig;  Evan.  Miss'y  Soc.  In  Basel:  Gen'l 
Coun.,  Evan.  Luth.  Church;  International  Com.,  Y.  M.  C.  A.;  London  Miss'y 
Soc;  LoventhaFs  Mission;  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  Miss'y  Pence  Assn.; 
Mission  Institute  at  Hermanusburg;  Reformed  Church  in  America;  Schles- 
wig-Holstein  Evan.  Luth.  Mission  Soc;  Society  for  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel;  South  Arcot  Highways  and  Hedges  Mission;  Synod  of  Missouri, 
Ohio  and  other  States;  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland;  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odist Miss'y  Soc;  World's  Y.  W.  C.  A.;  Zenana  Bible  and  Medical  Mission. 

Mysore.  —  American  Advent  Mission  Soc;  Ceylon  and  India  Gen'l  Mis- 
sion; Christian  Missions.  ("Brethren");  C'lurch  of  Eng.  Zenana  Miss'y 
.Soc;  International  Com..  Y.  M.  C.  A.;  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  Wes- 
leyan Methodist  Miss'y  Soc;  World's  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

Northwest  Frontier  Province.  —  Church  Miss'y  Soc;  Church  of  Eng. 
Zenana  Miss'y  Soc  f 

Punjab.  —  Baptist  Miss'y  Soc;  Baptist  Zenana  Mission;  British  and 
For,  Bible  Soc;  Church  Miss'y  Soc;  Church  of  Er;-.  Zenana  Miss'y  S<ic. ; 
(^hurch  of  Scotland  For.  Mission  Com.;  International  Com..  Y.  M.  C.  A.; 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  Moravian  Missions;  N.  India  School  of  Medi- 
ejne  for  Chrlstisin  Women;  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions;  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church,  N.  A.,  Geu'l  Synod;  Society  for  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel;  United  Presbyterian  Cbnrch,  N.  A.;  World's  Y.  W.  C.  A.;  Zenana 
Bible  and  Medical  Mission. 

Rajputana.  —  Church  Miss'y  Soc,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  Presby- 
terian Board  of  Missions;  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland;  World's 
Y.  W.  C.  A. 

Sikkim.  —  Church  of  Scotland  For.  Mission  Com. 

United  Provinces.  —  Baptist  Miss'y  Society;  Baptist  Zenana  Mission: 
British  and  For.  Bible  Soc;  Christian  Woman's  Bd.  of  Missions:  Church 
Miss'y  Soc;  Edinburgh  Medical  Miss'y  Soc;  Gossner's  Mission;  Internation«l 
Com.,  Y.  M.  C,  A.;  Ix)ndon  Miss'y  Soc;  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  Miss'y 
Pence  Assn.;  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions;  Reformed  Episcopal  Church; 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church.  N.  A..  Gen'l  Synod;  Scandinavian  Alliance 
Mission;  Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel;  Woman's  Union  Miss'y 
Boc;  World's  Y.  W.  C.  A.;  Zenana  Bible  ard  Medical  Mission. 


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INDEX 


Aborieines  of  India :  earliest  in- 
habitants, 21;  their  modern 
representatives,  21,  22;  conjec- 
tural origin  of,  22,  23;  their 
religion,     25,     24. 

i\c('ountant  of  village,    101. 

Adi    Brahma     Saraaj,     140^^111. 

Aga   Khan's  address,   119. 

Agni,    terrestrial    god    of    lire,    31. 

Agricultural   Avealth   of   India,    12. 

Akbar,    the   Great,   03. 

Alexander   invades   India,    iS. 

Aligarh  instil utious  of  Islam.  118, 
119;     characterized,    lOS,    199. 

American  Baptist  Missionary 
Union,  171 ;  success  in  Telugii 
field,    225. 

American  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions,   174.    175;    plan    of,   302. 

American    pioneers,    173-175. 

Amherst.    Lord,    72. 

Amritsar,  holy  city  of  Sikhs,  113. 

Araritsar  Medical  Mission  Hos- 
pital,    205-207. 

Amusements   of   Hindus,    106. 

Auamalai    Hill    Tribes,    82. 

Ancestor  worship  in  early  times, 
44,    45,    125,    126. 

Andama7i   Islanders,    82, 

Anderson,  Rev.  Herbert,  defines 
Swadeshi  movement,  271;  on 
education,   272;    quoted,    275. 

Animal  pests,  14. 

Animal-worship;    see    Zoolatry. 

Anti-Christian  education,  197-199: 
at    Lahore,    239. 

Antiquity  of  India,  3. 

Arabs  bring  to  Europe  Indian 
knowledge,    4. 

Aranyakas,    39. 

Architecture  of  Buddhist  Period, 
55. 

Artisans    of    village,    103. 

Arya    Samaj,    199,    238,    239. 

Aryan    language,    24,    25. 

Aryans,  early:  first  entry  into 
India.  24;  their  original  home, 
24;  language  heirlooms  from, 
24,  25;  Aryan  invasion,  25; 
daily  life  of,  26,  27;  death 
among  Aryans,  27,  28;  their  re- 
ligion,   28-35. 


Asoka,  a  famous  Buddhist  king, 
51;  his  edicts,  51,  52;  his  coun- 
cil,   53. 

Astrologer   of   village,   102. 

Asvius,    interpretation    of,    30. 

Atharva    Yeda,    38. 

Augustan    Age    of    India,    57. 

Awakenings,    recent,    279-285. 

Azariah,   U.   S.,   295. 

Baber,    a    Mohammedan   ruler,   C2. 

Bactrian    influences,    49. 

Baker-gauj    cyclone,    IS. 

Bands:  composed  of  mission- 
aries, 185;  of  natives,  ISO,  187; 
cultivate  near  neighborhood, 
235. 

Baner.iea,    Krishna    Mohan.    260. 

Baptism.  problems  connected 
with.    22.3.    224. 

Baptist  Missionary  Society:  its 
pioneers,    168-173. 

Baptist  union  in  India,  287. 

Barbers   of   India,    103. 

Bauboo,  Mrs.  Tabitha,  263. 

Bazaar    preaching,    183. 

Benares,  Hinduism's  sacred  city, 
132. 

Bengal,    partition   of,   270. 

Bentinck,    Lord   William,    72. 

Bethune  Girls'    College,  263. 

Bhagavad  Gita,  60. 

Bharat,  Bharata :  foot-note,  1: 
important  actors  in  Mahabhar- 
ata,     34. 

Bible    translation    in    India,    257. 

Bibliolatry    of    Sikhs.    113,    114. 

Bird's-eye   view   of  India,   4,   5. 

Bishop,  Mrs.,  testimony  concern- 
ing  Zenana   life,   93. 

Black    and    White    Jews,    111. 

Blacksmith,   village,   103. 

Blavatsky,   Madame,   141,   240. 

Books   published    in    India,    86. 

Bose,    Miss    Chandra    Mukhi,    263. 

Bose,   Ram    Chandra.    260,    261. 

Bose,   Rev.,    M.   N.    264. 

Brahma  and  Brahm&,  128;  cen- 
tral   in    Pantheism,    138. 

Brahma    Samaj,    139,    140. 

Brahman,    or   eternal   essence,   53. 

Brahman  as  village  priest,  101, 
102;    in    earliest    times,    36,    37; 


321 


322 


INDEX 


regarded  as  divine,  124,  125; 
superior  to  the  gods,  138; 
character  of,  138,  189. 

Brahmanas,  38,  39. 

Brainerd,  David,  inspires  Indian 
workers,    173. 

British  in  India;  early  English 
attempts,  69;  British  East  In- 
dia Company,  69-72;  expansion 
since  1857,  72,  73;  native  view 
of  British  rule,  73,  74. 

British   rule:    see    Government. 

Brown,    David,    166,    167. 

Buchanan,    Claudius,    106,    167. 

Buddha:  important  dates  in  his 
life,  45;  his  various  appella- 
tions, 45,  foot-note ;  his  daily 
work,    46. 

Buddhism:  its  founder,  45,  46;  a 
development  of  Hinduism,  46; 
its  tenets,  46,  47;  secret  of  its 
success,  47,  48;  Asoka's  serv- 
ices to,  51;  King  Kanishka's 
services  to,  52;  four  Buddhist 
councils,  52,  53:  its  missions, 
53,  54;  its  civilization,  55;  its 
passing,  66,  57;  its  legacy,  57; 
present  location,  110;  affected 
by  Hinduism,  114;  character  in 
Burma,  114,  115;  pagoda  build- 
ing, 115;  monasteries  and 
monks,    115,    116;    defects,    116. 

Buddhist  ascendency,  period  of, 
48-55. 

Burma :    Lower,   11 ;   Upper,   12. 

Burmese  women,   95. 

Calcutta  described,  87-89;  mean- 
ing of  name,  130. 

Carey,   William,   169,   170,  273,   285. 

Caste:  early  origin  of,  35-37;  its 
degeneracy,  96;  rationale  of, 
96,  97;  essential  features,  97; 
advantages  of,  97,  98;  its  evils, 
98;  relation  to  missions,  99, 
100;  as  a  trade  guild  and  as- 
surance society,  106;  effect  on 
individual  religious  views,  137; 
Dr.  Wilson's  view  of,  267; 
problems  in  the  Church,  220- 
222 ;   efforts  to  win  high,  289.  _ 

Catholicism  in  India :  pioneers  in 
India,  153,  154;  Xavier,  154; 
Malabar  Rites,  154,  1.55;  priests 
at  work,  155,  156;  its  converts, 
156,  157;  differences  between  it 
and  Protestantism,  157,  1.58; 
present  strength,  158,  159;  de- 
fects,  159. 

Cats  worshiped  by  women,  124. 

Census  of  India:  as  to  popula- 
tion and  its  distribution,  75, 
76;  as  to  foreigners  in  India, 
77;  vital  statistics,  78;  differ- 
ent Indian  races,  78;  religions, 
109;  Islam's  growth,  121;  Ca- 
tholicism,      158;        Protestants, 


179;  native  religions  and  Chris- 
tianity,  2,51. 

Chambers,    William,    167. 

Chandra  Gupta,  first  king  of  In- 
dia,  50. 

Chandra,    Professor    Ram,    261. 

Chaplains  of  East  India  Com- 
pany,   166,    167. 

Children :  girls  not  desired,  91 ; 
characteristics   of,    95,   96. 

Chinese  Bible  of  Marshman  and 
Lassar,    171. 

Chinese   travelers   to  India,    56. 

Christ:  place  of,  in  Indian 
thought,    267-269. 

Christian  Endeavor,  United  So- 
ciety of,  117;  value  to  Church, 
214. 

Christians  as  distributed  locally, 
255. 

Christians,  native:  see  Native 
Church. 

Christianity  and  other  religions 
in   India,   251,   252. 

Christianity   in    India :    see   ch.   v. 

Chuckerbuttv's  Orphanages,  Miss, 
263. 

Church  building  in  village  de- 
scribed,  216. 

Church    farm,    232,    233. 

Church  Missionary  Society:  in- 
fluence on  Syrian  Church,  152; 
an  heir  of  Danish-Halle  mis- 
sion, 165;  a  pioneer  in  India, 
176. 

Church  of  Scotland  Women's 
Association,   177. 

Church :  see  Native  Church. 

Civilization,    Buddhist,    55. 

Climate  of  India:  temperature, 
15:  rainfall,  15;  bursting  of 
the  monsoon,  15-17;  seasons, 
17,  18;  cyclones,  18;  drought, 
18;  famines,  19;  famine  ac- 
companiments,    19. 

Clive,  Robert,  70. 

Colleges  and  higher  education, 
196-201. 

Colportage,   209. 

Columbus  and  India,   2. 

Commandments,    Buddhism's,    47. 

Common  life  in  India,  87-106. 

"Compound  system,"   229. 

Continental  Europe's  contact 
with  India,  65-69;  causes  of 
its   failure,    68,   69. 

Contributions  of  Christian  con- 
verts,  259. 

Converts:  quality  of  Catholic, 
1.56,  157,  159:  problems  con- 
nected with  new,  222-224;  need 
of  employment,  227;  notable, 
260-263. 

Coolies,  103. 

Cooperative  Credit  Associations 
of   Government,    229. 


INDEX 


323 


Coruwallia,    Charles,   71. 

Corrie,   Daniel,   167. 

Corvino,  John  of  Monte,  153. 

Councils,   four  Buddhist,  52,  53. 

Cow    especially  sacred,    124. 

Credit    Associations,    229. 

Creed   of   Hinduism,   short,    I08. 

Crisis   in   India.   284. 

Criticism  of  missions:  see  objec- 
tions to  Indian  missions. 

Critics  of  missions  characterized, 
271,   272. 

Cross,   power  of,   in  India,   268. 

Cyclones,    18. 

Dalhousie,   Lord,   72. 

Danes  in  India,  67. 

Danish-Halle  mission:  its  pio- 
neers, 161-163;  Schwartz,  163, 
164;  defects  of  mission,  164, 
165.  **• 

Dawn  and  Xight  as  deities,  30. 

Dayauaud    Sarasvati,    238,    239. 

Death    in    Aryan    times,    27. 

Deccan,    6-8. 

Deified  men,   126,  127. 

Deities,  classification  of  Vedic, 
28-32. 

Demouolatry,    127. 

Density    of    population,    76. 

Dharma   Sutras,   44. 

Didaskaleion  at  Alexandria,  149, 
150. 

Diseases    most    prevalent,    78. 

Distribution   of   Indian   races,    76. 

Dra vidians,   23;    religion   of,   23. 

Drought,  18. 

Duff's  view  of  education,  196, 
197. 

Dumas  and  Dupleix  and  Indian 
Empire,    67. 

Durga,    a  name   of   Kali,    129. 

Dutch    in    India,    66,    67. 

Dutch  Protestant  missions,  160, 
101. 

Early  inhabitants  of  India,  21-24. 

Earth,   a   deity,    29. 

East  India  Company,  British, 
69-72;  forerunner  of  missions, 
166;  its  chaplains,  166,  167;  its 
Christian  representatives,  167; 
its  legislation,   168. 

Eclectic    Hinduism,     139-141. 

Economic  problems  of  Indian 
Church:  need  of  employment, 
227,  228;  peasant  settlements, 
228-229;  credit  associations, 
229. 

Eddy,  G.  S.,  describes  native 
band  work,  186,  187;  quoted, 
276-277. 

Edicts  of  Asoka,  Buddhist,  51, 
52. 

Education  in  India,  196;  anti- 
Christian,    197-199. 

Educational  problems:  see  edu- 
cational  work. 


Educational  work:  the  Marsh- 
man's,  171,  172;  first  schools 
for  Hindu  girls,  171,  172;  first 
chartered  missionary  college, 
172;  \eruacuiar  schools,  191- 
196;  higher  education,  196-198; 
for  women,  199,  200;  trained 
educators  needed,  200,  201;  in- 
dustrial education,  201;  prob- 
lems connected  with,  236-238; 
comparisons,  252,  253;  gradu- 
ates in  mission  service,  25S. 

Educators,  need  for  trained,  200, 
201. 

"  Ekam  eva  advitiyam, "  Hindu- 
ism's   short    creed,    138. 

Emigration,   77. 

English  in  education,  use  of,  196. 

English  language  in  India,  85,  86. 

Epic  period  of  Indian  History, 
34-41. 

Epworth    League,    214. 

Eras,    Indian,    49. 

European  residences  in  India,  88. 

Evangelistic  work:  preaching  in 
mission  halls,  182;  in  bazaars, 
183;  itineration,  183,  184;  its 
difficulties,  184,  185;  by  bands 
of  missionaries,  1S5;  by  native 
bands,  186,  187;  stereopticoa 
addresses,  187,  188;  work  in 
homes,  188;  Madras  resolutions 
concerning,  188,  189;  in  lowly 
homes,  190-193;  remarkable 
movement    in    Burma,    204,    2G5. 

Evolution  and  Indian  religions, 
218,    219. 

Extension    of  native    Cliurch,   235. 

Fa  Hsien,  early  Chinese  pilgrim, 
56. 

Family:  in  Aryan  times,  26,  27; 
system,    described,   90,   91. 

Famines:  ravages  of,  19;  accom- 
paniments   of,    19. 

Farmers   of  India,  103-105. 

Fauna   of   India,    13,    14. 

■ '  First  in  Arts  * '    degree,  258. 

Foreigners    in    India,    77. 

Forests,   13. 

Four  great  regions  of  India.  6-12. 

Fraser,    Principal    A.    G.,    300. 

Frederick  IV.  of  Denmark,  161, 
163. 

French   in  India,   67. 

"Gains  of  Learning  Bill,"  90, 
91. 

Gama,  Vasco  da,  reaches  India, 
65. 

Ganesa,    129. 

Ganga,  Mother,  poetical  name  of 
the  Ganges,  14. 

Ganges:  deposits  brought  down 
by,  14;    adored,   1:^2. 

Georgic,    earliest   Aryan,   26. 

Germans  in   India.  68. 

Gericke,    163. 


324 


INDEX 


Gersoppa,    Falls   of,    8. 

Ghats,    Eastern    jind    Western,    7. 

Ghose,    Dr.    R.    B.,    273. 

Goddesses,    129,    130. 

Gods,    need    for   many,    137. 

Gopalgange    Mission,    263,    264. 

Gopis,  or  female  cowherds,  128. 

Goreh,    Miss,    263. 

Goreh,  Rev.   Nehemiah,   263. 

Government  of  India :  in  prov- 
inces and  native  states,  106, 
107;  evils  of  British  control, 
107,  108;  provides  for  religious 
needs  of  officials,  179,  180;  its 
estimate  of  the  value  of  mis- 
sions, 181;  attitude  toward 
missionary  education,  236,  237; 
attitude  toAvard  Indian  reli- 
gions, 242;  bad  example  of 
officials,  242;  helpfulness  to 
missions,    242,    243. 

Grant,    Charles,   165,    166,    167,   174. 

Granths,  the  two,  of  the  Sikhs, 
113. 

"Great  Principles"  of  Seram- 
pore    missionaries,    172,    173. 

Greek  invasion,   48,   49. 

Grihya   Sutras,  44. 

Griindler,    161,    162. 

Guru,  134. 

Hall,     Charles    Cuthbert,    279-298. 

Hall,   Gordon,   174. 

Harada,    Mr.,    275. 

Harnam     Singh     Ahluwalia,     261. 

Harrison,   ex-President,   263. 

Harvest    festival,    230-232. 

Hastings,    Marquis    of,    71,    72. 

Hastings,  Warren.  70,  71. 

Headman    of    village,    101. 

Heaven,    a    deity.    29. 

Hell,  Hindu  ideas  of,  125,  126. 

Henotheisra    of    Vedic    times,    33. 

High   places   of   Hinduism,    132. 

Himalayan  region,  6;  described, 
10;    value    to    India,    11. 

Hindi,     85. 

Hindrances  to  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity,   299. 

Hindu  college   at  Benares.    141. 

Hinduism:  its  preamble,  57,  5S; 
location,  110;  its  objects  of 
worship,  122-131;  its  shrines 
and  temples,  131,  132;  its  high 
places,  132;  its  temple  wor- 
ship, 132-134;  in  the  home, 
134,  135;  its  leading  ideas,  135- 
139;  eclectic  schools  of,  139- 
141;  its  Occidental  missions, 
141-144;     its    defects,     144,     1!5. 

Hindustan,    meaning,    1. 

Hindustani,    85. 

History:  character  of  Indian, 
20,  21;  periods  of  Hindu-Vedic 
Age,  2000  to  1400  B.  C,  24-33; 
Epic  Period,  1400-1000  B.  C, 
34-41;      period      of     expansion, 


1000-320  B.  C,  41-48;  Buddhist 
Period,  820  B.  C.  to  400  A.  D., 
48-55;  Puranic  Period,  500-1000 
A.  D.,  55-61;  Mohammedan 
Period,  1001-1761,  A.  D.,  61-69; 
British   Period,   1600-,   69-74. 

Holy    men    of    India,    146. 

Home    Missionary    Societies,    235. 

Homes :  of  wealthy  Indians,  88, 
89;  of  Calcutta's  poor,  89; 
furnishing  of  village,  90;  re- 
ligion in,  134,  135;  missionary 
visitation    of,    188,    190-193. 

Hostels    important,    238. 

Ilsiian,  Chinese  Buddhist  trav- 
eler,   56. 

Hymns  of  Indian  converts: 
'Krishna  Chandra  Pal's,  169; 
Miss    Goreh 's,    263. 

Ideal  man,  according  to  early 
Hindu    literature,    41. 

Ideals  of  Christianity,  267. 

Imad-ud-din,    Rev.,    261. 

India:  names  of,  1,  2;  territory 
included  under  the  name  in 
early  and  recent  times,  2; 
areas,  4,  5;  scenery,  5;  unrest 
in,  270.  For  main  items  con- 
sult  Table   of   Contents. 

India    Sunday-school    Union,    177. 

Indian  law  atTected  by  missions, 
265,    266. 

Indian  National  Congress,  267, 
273. 

Indian  Students  Aid  Associa- 
tion,   278. 

Indra:  connected  with  the  name 
India,  1;  an  important  god,  30, 
31;    hymn    to,   31. 

Industrial  conditions  in  India, 
105,    106. 

Industrial    education,    201. 

Ingersoll  in  vernacular  litera- 
ture, 87. 

Inquisition  persecutes  Nestori- 
ans,   151. 

Intellectual  expansion  in  India, 
1000-320,    B.    C.    41-43. 

Irrigation    can.n'.s,    18. 

Islam:    see    Mohammedanism. 

Islam,    the    New,    239,    240, 

Itinerating,    18:^-188. 

Jains:  rise  and  character,  54;  lo- 
cation of,  110;  description  of, 
112;    temples    of,    112. 

Japan,  victories  of,  271;  influence 
of,    275. 

Jordanus,   153,  154. 

Judaism :  provincial  distribution 
of  Jews,  109;  earlv  arrival  in 
India,  110,  111;  Black  and 
White    Jews,    111. 

Judson,   Adoniram,   173,    174. 

Juggernaut,    or   Jagannath,    132. 

Kali,  the  "black"  goddess, 
129,    130. 


INDEX 


3-^5 


Kanithka,  a  Scythiau  king,  49; 
summom  a  Buddhist  Council, 
62,     53. 

Kapila,  founder  of  Synthesis 
Philosophy,    43. 

Knrma,   doctrine  of,   46,  48. 

Keshab  Chander  Sen:  changes 
Lord's  prayer,  92;  founds 
Brahma  Samaj,  140,  141;  ad- 
dress   on    Jesu.s,    268,    269. 

Keskar's  Orphanage  and  Indus- 
trial   Mission,    264. 

Kiernander,    163,    165. 

Kolarians,    23. 

Kols,    worship   of   spirits,   23. 

Ko  San-Ye  Movement  in  Burma, 
264,    265. 

Ko   Thah-byu,   260. 

Krishna  Chandra  Pal,  Carey '«- 
first  convert,   169,   260. 

Krishna  the  "dark  god,"  128, 
129. 

Kshattriyas  in   earliest   times,  36. 

Kurus:   see  Bharatas. 

Lakshmi,  goddes.s  of  fortune, 
129. 

Languages  of  India:  statistics, 
84,  especially  foot-note;  how 
far  a  single  language  is  under- 
stood, 84;  Sanskrit,  84,  85; 
Hindi  and  Hindustani,  85; 
English,    85,    86. 

Leaders  of  Indian  Church,  215. 

Leaf-wearers   of   Orissa,    82,   83. 

Legislation  of  East  India  Com- 
pany,   168. 

Leipsic    Missionary    Society,    165. 

Literary     work:     its    importance, 

207,  208;   principles  underlving, 

208,  209;     colportage,    209;     its 
product,  257. 

Literature :  Arvan  sacred,  Yedas, 
38;  Brahmanas,  38,  39;  Aran- 
yakas  and  Upanishads,  39,  40; 
of  India's  Augustan  Age,  57; 
of  Puranic  Period,  58-60;  ver- 
nacular, amount  published  and 
varieties,  86;  need  of  better, 
86;  infidelity  and  the  vernacu- 
lars, 87;  missionary  publica- 
tions available,   257. 

London  Missionary  Society  a 
pioneer,    176. 

Lucas,  J.  J.,  quoted,  294,  300,  301. 

Macarthur,  Bishop,  on  causes  of 
unrest,    272. 

Maclagan     J.    T.,   286. 

Madras   Christian   College,    253. 

Madras  resolutions:  concerning 
evangelistic  work,  188,  189; 
vernacular  schools,  195;  trained 
educators,  201;  industrial  edu- 
cation, 201;  medical  missions, 
204;  literature  and  colportage, 
208,  209;  need  of  Christian  life 
in    native    Church,    211;    caste, 


220;  female  baptism,  2lM  : 
peasant  settlements,  228;  meth- 
ods of  giving,  230;  appeal  for 
reinforcements,   294. 

Mahabharata,  India's  epic,  de- 
scribed,   34,    a5. 

Mahdi,    or    twelfth    Imam,    118. 

Makers   of  British   India,   70-72. 

Malabar  Kites,  154,  155. 

"Manifestations,"    281-282. 

Manley,   Rev.    G.    T.,    quoted,    278. 

Manu,    Laws    of,    55,    60. 

Maratha   Confederacy,   64. 

Marriage:  in  Aryan  times,  27; 
early,    93,    94. 

Marshman,    Joshua,    171,    172. 

Martyn,  Henry,  167;  despaired  of 
seeing  a  true  Hindu  convert, 
259,    285. 

Maruts  or   "Gleaming  Ones,"  31. 

Mass  movements:  in  Tinnevellv, 
224,  225;  Telugu  field,  225;  in 
North  India,  225;  resulting 
problems,    225-227. 

Mathers,    Rev.  J.,   quoted,  274. 

Meals  of   the   poor,    104. 

Mediatorship  in  Hinduism,  138. 

Medical  Missions:  pioneer  in  In- 
dia, 168.  169:  field  and  need. 
202,  203;  force  engaged,  203; 
aims,  203,  204;  work  for 
women,  204,  205;  a  woman's 
case,    205,    206. 

Medicine    in    Buddhist    times,    55. 

Megasthenes'  account  of  India 
in   300  B.    C.   50.    51. 

Mental  capacity  of  Hindus,  SO, 
81. 

Methods  of  work:  see  ch.  vi.; 
also  under  Index  "  Educa- 
tional work,"  "Evangelistic 
work, "  "  Literary  work. ' ' 
"Medical  missions,"  "Na- 
tive Church,"  "Woman's 
work." 

Mid-air    deities,    30,    31. 

Minerals,   metals,   gems.   l.*?. 

Mirza  Ghulam  Ahmad,  240. 

Missionaries :  early  Buddhi.st, 
54;  relati^ons  to  Occidentals, 
244;  spiritual  contact  with, 
244,  245;  relations  to  one  an- 
other, 245,  246;  relation  to  na- 
tive force,  246,  247:  inner  life 
of,  247,  attitude  of,  274;  need 
of.   294;    class  of.   295.   .'',02. 

Missions:  diffused  and  concen- 
trated,   290-292. 

Missions    of    Buddhism.    53.    54. 

Mohammedan  rule:  period  of, 
61-65;  character  of,  Gl,  62;  its 
rulers,  62;  influence  of  Mos- 
lem  rule,    64,   65. 

Mohammedanism:  location,  110; 
numerical  strength  of,  116; 
general      character,      64,      117: 


326 


INDEX 


sects,  117,  118;  modern  school 
of,  118;  its  Aligarh  institu- 
tions, 118,  119;  its  defects,  120; 
relation  to  idolatry,  120,  121; 
its  numerical  growth,  121;  its 
educational  propaganda,  239; 
mission  work,   239,   240. 

Monasteries  of  Burman  Bud- 
dhists,   115,    116. 

Monkey    especially    sacred,    124. 

Monks    in   Burma,    115. 

Monotheism  vs.   idolatry,  120,  121. 

Monsoon,  bursting  of,   15,   16. 

Motoda,    Dr.,    quoted,    275.    276. 

Motto   of    Ziegenbalg,    163. 

Mutazilites,    118. 

Mutiny,    Sepoy,    72,   274. 

Mylne,   Dr.,    quoted,    290,    292,   293. 

Mysore    forest    describea,    7,    8. 

Nalanda    and    its    University,    56. 

Names:  of  India  and  their  sig- 
nificance, 1,  2;  of  Indian 
rivers,  8. 

Narbada,   a   sacred  river,  122. 

Nat   worship   in   Burma,    127,   128. 

National  characteristics  of  In- 
dians,  81,   82. 

National  Missionary  Society  of 
India,  285,   286. 

Native  agency,  257,  258. 

Native  bands  for  evangelistic  ef- 
fort,   186. 

Native  Church:  membership,  210; 
character  of  members,  210,  211; 
preaching  for,  212,  213;  Sun- 
day-schools in,  213,  214;  socie- 
ties in,  214;  leaders  of,  215; 
evolution  of,  215-217;  character 
of,  258,  259;  contributions  of, 
259;   native  leaders  of,  260,  261. 

Native  force  and  missionaries, 
246,    247. 

Native  opposition  to  missionary 
education,   236,    237. 

Naturi,  or  Mohammedan  Ration- 
alists, 239. 

"  Nazarene  New  Sect"  of  Mo- 
hammedans,   240. 

Neo-Hinduism,   145.  240,  241,  273. 

Nestorians:    see    Syrian    Church. 

New  Dispensation  Church,  140, 
141. 

Noble,   Miss,   240. 

Northern  Italy  and  the  Indo- 
Gangetic    plain,    9. 

North  India,  mass  movements  in, 
225. 

Objections  to  Indian  missions, 
218-220;  criticism  of  Steevens, 
269;  of  Meredith  Townsend, 
269,    270. 

Occidentals,  relations  of  mission- 
aries to,  244. 

Occaf.Hlions   of   Hindus,    100, 

Olcott,    Colonel,    141,    240. 

Opportunity    in    India,    270-303. 

Orissft,   ieaf-wearers  of,   82,   83. 


Pagoda    building,    115. 

Panchalas  or  "Five  Tribes." 
prominent  in  Mahabharata,  34, 
35. 

Panchayet  important  in  govern- 
ment, 107;  in  church  work,  234, 
235. 

Pantaenus  in  India,  149,   150. 

Pantheism,    137,    138. 

Parsees,  location  of,  109;  de- 
scribed,   111. 

Peasant    settlements,    228,    229, 

Pennell,      Dr.,    296. 

Periodicals  in  India.  86;  for 
Christians,  207,  208;  of  Neo- 
Hinduism,   241. 

Philosophy  and  its  six  schools, 
43. 

Physical  relations  of  Indian  re- 
gions,   6-11. 

Phvsical  qualities  of  Hindus,  79, 
80. 

Pilgrimages,    145,    146. 

Pistorio,    Nicholas   de,    153. 

Pittendrigh,  Principal,  quoted, 
289. 

Plants  possessed  by  missions, 
256. 

Plants   worshiped,    123,    124. 

Pliitschau,    161,   162. 

Polygamy    in    the    Church,    222. 

Portuguese   rule   in  India,   65,   66. 

Positions,  government,  272. 

Poverty    of    the    masses,    105,    106. 

Prayer':  for  forgiveness,  29,  SO; 
to  the  Ganges,  122,  annual 
day  of,   279. 

Praying  bands,  284. 

Preaching:  to  native  Church, 
212;  illustration,  212,  213;  Ko 
Thahbyu,  Karen  apostle,  ser- 
mon of,  212.  213.  See  ' '  Evan- 
gelistic  work." 

Presbyterian  union  in  India,  286, 

Priest,    Brahman :    see    Brahman. 

Priests  at  work.  Catholic,  155, 
156. 

Printing  in  India,  86. 

Printing  in  missions,  in  India, 
86;   William   Ward's  work.   172. 

Probation,  length  of,  a  problem, 
222,    223. 

Problema  of  India  missions:  see 
ch.    vii. 

Progress  of  forty  years  of  mis- 
sions, 253,  254. 

Protestant  statistics,  1901,  179; 
1890-1900,  250,  251.  See  Ap- 
pendixes B.  and  C. 

Prussia   in    India,   68. 

Ptolemy's   view   of   India,    2. 

Public  spirit  largely  lacking  in 
India,   82. 

Puranas :  rejected  by  Rammohun 
Roy,  39;  "Ancient  Lore,"  o8, 
59. 

Puranic    period,    55-Gl, 


INDEX 


327 


Pushan,    a  god,   28,    29. 

Puttenham,   George,  270. 

Races  of  India:  facts  from  cen- 
sus of  1901,  75-77;  foreigners 
in  India,  77;  emigration,  77; 
race  divisions,  78;  physical 
qualities  of  races,  79;  mental 
caliber,  80;  national  character- 
istics, 81,  82;  wild  tribes.  82, 
83-  differences  between  them 
and  Hindus,   83,   84. 

Rainfall,  15. 

Rama,   hero   of  Ramavana,   35. 

Ramabai,    Pundita,    263,    264, 
283. 

Ramayana,  great  Indian  epic,   35, 

Rammohun    Ray,    139,    140. 

Recruits    needed,     294;     kind    de 
sired,   295. 

Reddis,  or  southern  farmers,  104 

Reformed  Church  in  America 
175. 

Reforms  aided  by  missionaries 
266,    267. 

Religion:       aboriginal,       23,       24 
Vedic,   28-33;    in  Epic  Age,   37- 
41;  in  period  of  expansion,  43- 
45;    statistics   of,    251,    252;    sta 
tistics     to-day,     109;     distribu 
tion    of    religions,    109,    110. 

Resources    of    India :    agricultural 
and    horticultural,     12;     forest 
18;   minerals,  metals,   gems,  13 
fauna,   13,   14;    rivers,    14,   15. 

Revival  in  India,  281-283;  results 
of,    288-284. 

Rig  Veda,  25;  quotations  from, 
26,    27,   29,   30,   31,   32,   33. 

River  plains,    8-10. 

Rivers   a   resource,    14,   15. 

Romanism :     see     Catholicism. 

Rudra,    or    Thunder,    31. 

Rudra,      Principal,      quoted,      290. 

Saiyid  Ahmad,   118. 

Saka  Era.   49. 

Saktas,  worshipers  of  the  Sakti, 
130. 

Saktism:    see   Saktas. 

Salary  of  native  pastors,  233, 
234. 

Sama    Veda,    38. 

Samvat   Era.    49. 

Sankara,  India's  St.  Augustine, 
59,  60. 

Sanskrit  in  vernacular  languages, 
84,    85. 

Sarah  Tucker  College  for  women, 
200. 

Sarasvati,  goddess  of  learning, 
129. 

Satthianadhans,  the  two  Mrs., 
262,    263. 

Savitar,    the   enlivener,   28. 

Scenery:    of    India,    5;     of    river 
plains,    8,   9;    of   Himalayan  re- 
ion,    10;    of   Uppr-r   ]^*ur\na,    12. 
opinion   of   Islam,    120. 


gion,    lu 
Schlegel's 


Schofield,    Dr.,    quoted,    282. 

Schoolmaster,    102. 

Schools  of  Indian  Philosophy,   43. 

Schultze,    163. 

Schwartz,    163,    164. 

Science  in  early  Hindu  literature, 
40;  occasion  for  its  rise,  40;  in 
period  of  intellectual  expan- 
sion, 42. 

Scriptures,    translation   of,    167. 

Scudder,   John,   175. 

Sculpture   of   Buddhist   times,   55. 

Scythian    invaders,    49,    50. 

Seasons  of  India,   17,  18. 

Secretary  of  State  on  missionary 
effort,   266. 

Seleukos,  Alexander's  successor, 
50. 

Self-government  of  native 

Church:  desirable  and  possi- 
ble, 233;  pastor's  salary  an 
obstacle  to,  233,  234;  training 
to  govern,  233,  284 ;  panchayets, 
234. 

Self-supporting  Church:  difficul- 
ties, 229,  230;  methods  of  se- 
curing, 230-233. 

Sepoy  Mutiny,  72,   177,  178. 

Serampore   pioneers,    168-173. 

Serpent    worshipers,    23. 

Settlements,    peasant,    228,    229. 

Sharrock,   Principal,  289. 

Sheshadri,    Narayan,    261. 

Shiahs,   117,   118. 

Shrines  and  temples  of  Hindu- 
ism,   131,    132. 

Sikhs:  location  of,  110;  their 
rise,  113;  sacred  city  and 
Book,  113,  114;  present  status, 
114. 

Sin,   sense  of  in  Vedas,   29,   30. 

Singh,   Miss  Lilivati,  263. 

Sirhind    Canal.    18. 

Siva,    129. 

Sita,   Rama's  wife,   36. 

Sky    deities,    28-30. 

Snakes  worshiped  by  women, 
124. 

Social  Conference  of  1894,  267. 

Society  for  Promoting  Christian. 
Knowledge,    165,    176. 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel,  165,  176;  a  pioneer, 
176. 

Society :  in  Aryan  times,  26,  27 ; 
in  Epic  Period,  35-37;  in  300 
B.    C,    50,    51. 

Soma,  or  moon-plant,  as  a  deity, 
32. 

"  Sons  of  the  Ganges,"   122. 

Sons,    why   desired,    126. 

Sorabjis,  converted  Parsee  fam- 
ily, 262;  Mrs.  Sorabji's  High 
School,    263. 

South  Pacitic  peoples  and  In- 
dia's   aborigines,    22,    23. 


328 


INDEX 


Spiritual  life  of  missionaries, 
247,   248. 

Spiritual  worship  of  Hinduism, 
134. 

Statistics  of  missionary  effort, 
249-255. 

Stereopticon  work,   187,  188. 

Stokes,    J.    E.    Jr.,    298. 

Stones  an  object  of  worship,  123. 

Student  Volunteer  movement  of 
India,    279. 

Students,  Indian,  275-279;  in 
Japan,  275,  276;  influence  of, 
278. 

Sudras  in  earliest  times,  37. 

Sun    God,    28. 

Sunday-schools,    213,    214. 

Sunnites,    117. 

Surva,    the   Sun    God,    28. 

Sutras,    defined,    43,    44. 

Swadeshi  movement,  defined,  270- 
271;  causes  of,  271;  harmful 
effects   of,   273. 

Swamis,    141,    142. 

Swaraj,   271. 

Sweden   in    India,    68. 

Syrian  Church:  Persian  origin 
of,  150,  151;  extension  through 
Asia,  150,  151;  during  Mid- 
dle Ages,  151;  persecuted  by 
Romanists,  151;  modern  revival 
of,  152;  crosses  of,  152;  failure 
of,  152,  153;  its  practice  with 
regard  to  caste,  221. 

Tagore,  leader  of  Theistic 
Church  of   India,   140. 

Tamerlane,  ' '  Timur,  the  Lane, ' ' 
C2,    63. 

Tantras,    the,    59. 

Teachers,  difiBcult  to  secure  suit- 
able,   237,    238. 

Telugu   mass   movements,    225. 

Temperature   of   India,   15. 

Temple   worship,    132,    133. 

Temples  of   Hinduism,   131,  132. 

Terrestrial   gods,   31,   32. 

Theosophy,   141. 

Thoburn,  Isabella:  founds  first 
woman's  college,  199;  value  of 
her  work,   200. 

Thomas,  Dr.,   168,   169. 

Thomas,  St. :  apocryphal  tradi- 
tions of,  147,  148;  how  ex- 
plained,   148,    149. 

Thomason,   Thomas,   167. 

Tibeto-Burman   races.   23, 

Tigers,    man-eating,   14. 

Tilak,  273. 

Tinnevelly,  mass  movements  in, 
224,  225;  Indian  Missionary  So- 
ciety   of,    286. 

Tools  worshiped.    128. 

Toolsi :   see   Tulasi. 

Tract    societies    of    India,    207. 

Transmigration:  basis  of,  40;  af- 
fecting plant-worship,  123;  124; 
;aumber      aiid      character     of 


transmigrations,  124,  136,  142; 
result   of   belief  in,   206. 

Trimurti,  or  Hindu  Trinity,  128, 
129. 

Tulasi  an   object  of  worship,  124. 

Twin   Horsemen:    see   Asvins. 

Udny,    George,   167. 

Union,  Baptist,  287;  Presbyte- 
rian, 286-288;  advantages  of, 
288. 

United  Free  Church  of  Scotland 
and   education,   253. 

Upanishads:  described,  39;  teach 
transmigration,  40;  furnish 
preamble    of   Hinduism,    57,    .58. 

Urdu,   or    * '  camp  ' '   language,  85. 

Vaishnav    sect,    57. 

Vaisyas    in    earliest    times,    36. 

Vallabha    sect,   125. 

Valmiki,  traditional  author  of 
Ramayana,    35. 

Varuua,    29. 

Vata,    the    deity   of,    30. 

Vayu,    a    deity,    SO. 

Yedanta  and  Vedantism,  59,  60, 
278;    object   of,    142. 

Vedanta    Sutras,    50. 

Vedic    Age,    24--33. 

Vernacular  literature:  see  Litera- 
ture. 

Vernacular  schools,   194-198. 

Victoria  proclaimed  Empress  of 
India,    72,    73. 

Village   communities,    rise   of,   61. 

Village,  the  Indian:  a  native's 
description  of,  89,  90;  in  North 
Indiaj  215,  216;  system,  61,  100, 
101;  its  differing  classes,  101- 
106;  importance  of,  105;  preach- 
ing   in,    180. 

Vishnu:  his  incarnations,  128; 
power    of   his    name    Hari,    133. 

Vital   statistics  of  India,   78. 

Vivekananda  at  Chicago,  141; 
how  regarded  in  India,  143; 
estimate  of  Western  women, 
143,    144. 

Volunteer  Movement  for  Home 
Missions,    235. 

Volunteers  needed  for  India,  282- 
284. 

Vritra,    a    mid-air    deity,    31. 

Wages  in  India.  105;  of  Christian 
Church  members,  259. 

Wahhabis,   118. 

Ward,   Rev.   R.   J.,   279. 

Ward,  WilliauK  172. 

War  horse,  effect  on  aborigineii, 
25. 

Water-worship,  122. 

Weavers  of  India,   103. 

Wellesley,  Lord,  71. 

Wells  of  Benares,  gacred,  122, 
123. 

Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  ft 
pioneer,   176. 

Wheel,  Law  pf  the,  ^7, 


INDEX 


329 


Whitehead,    Dr.,    288. 

Widowhood,   child,   94. 

Wild   tribe,s,   82,   83. 

Wind  as  a  deity,  30. 

Women:  in  A>dic  times,  26,  27; 
in  Epic  Period,  37;  early  life 
of,  91,  92;  admired  and  hon- 
ored, 92,  93;  hard  life  of,  93; 
marriage  and  widowhood,  93, 
94;  common  lot  of,  94,  95;  in 
Burma,  95;  labors  in  the  vil- 
lages, 104 ;  worship  of  tulasi 
plant,  124;  influence  over  hus- 
))and,  190;  higher  education  of, 
199,    200. 

Womanhood,  a  new  Christian, 
261-263;  notable  examples  of, 
262,    263. 

Woman's  work:  increase  of,  189; 
importance  of,  189,  190;  for  low 
<-astes,  190-193;  in  zenanas,  193: 
teaching  in  homes,  193,  194 ; 
medical   work   for,   204-206. 

Women's  Society  for  Christian 
Female   Education,    Berlin,    177. 

World's  Student  Christian  Fed- 
eration  Conference,   276. 

World's  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian  Association,    177,   214. 


Worship:  household,  105;  in 
Hindu  temples,  132,  133;  not 
congregational,  133,  134;  spir- 
itual, 134;  in  the  home,  134, 
135. 

Xavier,  Francis,  154;  care  of 
souls,    247. 

Yajnavalkya,    Code    of,    60. 

Ya.iur  Veda,  Black  and  White, 
38. 

Yama :  a  terrestrial  deity,  32; 
his  heaven,  32,  33;  the  journey 
to,    125,    126. 

Yoga   system,   character  of,   146. 

Ybung  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, 177,  214,  275;  hostels  of, 
238. 

Young  Men's  Hindu  Association, 
242. 

Zenana  system:  real  evil  of,  92; 
Mrs.  Bishop's  testimony  con- 
cerning, 93;  teaching  in  ze- 
nanas,   193. 

Ziegenbalg,    161-163. 

Zoolatry,    124. 

Zoroastrianism :   see  Parsees. 

Zumbro,    President,    272. 


INDEX 


327 


I»ushan,    a   god,   28,   29. 

Puttenham,   George,   270. 

Races  of  India:  facts  from  cen- 
sus of  1901,  75-77;  foreigners 
in  India,  77;  emigration,  77; 
race  divisions,  78;  physical 
qualities  of  races,  79;  mental 
caliber,  80;  national  character- 
istics, 81,  82;  wild  tribes,  82, 
83;  differences  between  them 
and  Hindus,  83,   84. 

Rainfall,  15. 

Kama,   hero   of  Ramayana,   35. 

Ramabai,  Pundita,  263,  264,  280, 
283. 

Ramayana,  great   Indian  epic,  35. 

Rammohun    Ray,    139,    140. 

Recruits  needed,  294;  kind  de- 
sired,  295. 

Reddis,   or  southern  farmers,   104. 

Reformed  Church  in  America, 
175. 

Reforms  aided  by  missionaries, 
266,    267. 

Religion:  aboriginal,  23,  24; 
Vedic,  28-33;  in  Epic  Age,  37- 
41;  in  period  of  expansion,  43- 
45;  statistics  of,  251,  252;  sta- 
tistics to-day,  109;  distribu- 
tion   of    religions,    109,    110. 

Resources  of  India :  agricultural 
and  horticultural,  12;  forest, 
13;  minerals,  metals,  gems,  13; 
fauna,    13,    14;    rivers,    14,   15. 

Revival  in  India,  281-283;  results 
of,    283-284. 

Rig  Veda,  25;  quotations  from, 
26,   27,   29,   30,   31,   32,    33. 

River  plains,    8-10. 

Rivers   a   resource,    14,   15. 

Romanism:     see     Catholicism. 

Rudra,    or    Thunder,    31. 

Rudra,      Principal,      quoted,      290. 

Saiyid  Ahmad,   118. 

Saka  Era.   49. 

Saktas,  worshipers  of  the  Sakti, 
130. 

Saktism :    see   Saktas. 

Salary  of  native  pastors,  233, 
234. 

Sama    Veda,    38. 

Samvat    Era.    49. 

Sankara,  India's  St.  Augustine, 
59,  60. 

Sanskrit  in  vernacular  languages, 
84,    85. 

Sarah  Tucker  College  for  women, 
200. 

Sarasvati,  goddess  of  learning, 
129. 

Satthianadhans,  the  two  Mrs;, 
262,    263. 

Savitar,    the   enlivener,    28. 

Scenery:  of  India,  5;  of  river 
plains,  8,  9;  of  Himalavan  re- 
gion,   10;    of   Upper   Burma,   1-2. 

^chlegel's   opinion   of   Islam,    120. 


Schofield,    Dr.,    quoted,    282. 

Schoolmaster,    102. 

Schools  of  Indian  Philosophy,   iS. 

Schultze,    163. 

Schwartz,    163,    164. 

Science  in  early  Hindu  literature, 
40;  occasion  for  its  rise,  40;  in 
•period  of  intellectual  expan- 
sion, 42. 

Scriptures,    translation   of,    167. 

Scudder,   John,   175. 

Sculpture   of   Buddhist    times,    'jo. 

Scythian    invaders,    49,    50. 

Seasons  of  India,   17,  18. 

Secretary  of  State  on  missionary 
effort,   266. 

Seleukos,  Alexander's  successor, 
50. 

Self-government  of  native 

Church :  desirable  and  possi- 
ble, 233;  pastor's  salary  an 
obstacle  to,  233,  234;  training 
to  govern,  233,  234 ;  panchayets, 
234. 

Self-supporting  Church :  difficul- 
ties, 229,  230;  methods  of  se- 
curing, 230-233. 

Sepoy  Mutiny,  72,   177,  178. 

Serampore   pioneers,    168-173. 

Serpent    worshipers,    23. 

Settlements,    peasant,    228,    229. 

Sharrock,   Principal,  289. 

Sheshadri,    Narayan,    261. 

Shiahs,   117,  118. 

Shrines  and  temples  of  Hindu- 
ism,   131,    132. 

Sikhs:  location  of,  110;  their 
rise,  113;  sacred  city  and 
Book,  113,  114;  present  status, 
114. 

Sin,    sense  of  in  Vedas,   29,   30. 

Singh,   Miss  Lilivati,  263, 

Sirhind    Canal,    18. 

Siva,    129. 

Sita,   Rama's   wife,   35. 

Sky    deities,    28-30. 

Snakes  worshiped  by  women, 
124. 

Social  Conference  of  1894    267. 

Society  for  Promoting  Christian. 
Knowledge,    165,    176. 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel,  165,  176;  a  pioneer, 
176. 

Society:  in  Aryan  times,  26,  27; 
in  Epic  Period,  35-37;  in  300 
B.    C.,    50,    51. 

Soma,  or  moon-plant,  as  a  deity, 
32. 

"  Sons  of  the  Ganges,"   122. 

Sons,    why   desired,    126. 

Sorabjis,  converted  Parsee  fam- 
ily, 262;  Mrs.  Sorabji's  High 
School,    263. 

South  Pacific  peoples  and  In« 
dia's    aborigines,   22,   23. 


328 


INDEX 


Spiritual  life  of  missionaries, 
247,   248. 

Spiritual  worship  of  Hinduism, 
134. 

Statistics  of  missionary  effort, 
249-255 

Stereopticon  work,   1S7,  188. 

Stokes,    J.    E.    Jr.,    298. 

Stones  an  object  of  worship,  123. 

Student  Volunteer  movement  of 
India,    279. 

Students,  Indian,  275-279;  in 
Japan,  275,  276;  influence  of, 
278. 

Sudras  in  earliest  times,  37. 

Sun    God,    28. 

Sunday-schools,    213,    214. 

Sunnites,    117. 

Surva,    the    Sun   God,   28. 

Sutras,    defined,    43,    44. 

Swadeshi  movement,  defined,  270- 
271 ;  causes  of,  271 ;  harmful 
effects   of,   273. 

Swamis,    141,    142. 

Swaraj,  271. 

Sweden   in   India,   68. 

Syrian  Church:  Persian  origin 
of,  150,  151;  extension  through 
Asia,  150,  151;  during  Mid- 
dle Ages,  151;  persecuted  by 
Romanists,  151;  modern  reviva'l 
of,  152;  crosses  of,  152;  failure 
of,  152,  153;  its  practice  with 
regard  to  caste,  221. 

Tagore,  leader  of  Theistic 
Church  of   India,   140. 

Tamerlane,  "  Timur,  the  Lane,'' 
62,    63. 

Tantras,   the.   59. 

Teachers,  difficult  to  secure  suit- 
able,   237,    238. 

Telugu   mass   movements,   225. 

Temperature   of   India,   15. 

Temple   worship,    132,    133. 

Temples  of  Hinduism,   131,  132. 

Terrestrial  gods,   31,   32. 

Theosophy,    141. 

Thoburn,  Isabella:  founds  first 
woman's  college,  199;  value  of 
her  work,   200. 

Thomas,  Dr.,   168,  169. 

Thomas,  St. :  apocrj'phal  tradi- 
tions of,  147,  148;  how  ex- 
plained,   148,    149. 

Thomason,   Thomas,   167. 

Tibeto-Burman   races,   23. 

Tigers,   man-eating,   14. 

Tilak,  273. 

Tinnevelly,  mass  movements  in, 
224,  225;  Indian  Missionary  So- 
ciety   of,    286. 

Tools   worshiped,    128. 

Toolsi :   see   Tulasi. 

Tract    societies    of    India,    207. 

Transmigration:  basis  of,  40;  af- 
fecting plant-worship,  123;  124; 
number     and     cbaractor     pf 


transmigrations,  124,  136,  142; 
result  of  belief  in,   206. 

Trimurti,  or  Hindu  Trinity,  128, 
129. 

Tulasi  an  object  of  worship,  124. 

Twin   Horsemen :    see   Asvins. 

Udny,    George,   167. 

Union,  Baptist,  287;  Presbyte- 
rian, 286-288;  advantages  of, 
288. 

United  Free  Church  of  Scotland 
and   education,    253. 

Upanishads:  described,  39;  teach 
transmigration,  40;  furnish 
preamble   of   Hinduism,    57,    58. 

Urdu,   or    ' '  camp  ' '   language,  85. 

Vaishnav   sect,    57. 

Vaisyas    in    earliest    times,    36. 

Vallabha    sect,   125. 

Valmiki,  traditional  author  of 
Ramayana,   35. 

Varuna,    29. 

Tata,    the    deity   of,    SO. 

Yayu,    a   deity,    30. 

Yedanta  and  Vedantism,  59,  60, 
278;    object    of,    142. 

Vedanta    Sutras,    50. 

Tedic    Age,    24-33. 

Vernacular  literature:  see  Litera- 
ture. 

Vernacular   schools,    194-198. 

Victoria  proclaimed  Empress  of 
India,    72,    73. 

Village   communities,    rise   of,   61. 

Village,  the  Indian:  a  native's 
description  of,  89,  90;  in  North 
Indiaj  215,  216;  system,  61,  100, 
101;  its  differing  classes,  101- 
106;  importance  of,  105;  preach- 
ing   in,    186. 

Vishnu:  his  incarnations,  128; 
power    of    his    name    Hari,    135. 

Vital   statistics  of  India,   78. 

Vivekananda  at  Chicago,  141; 
how  regarded  in  India,  143; 
estimate  of  Western  women, 
143,    144. 

Volunteer  Movement  for  Home 
Missions,    235. 

Volunteers  needed  for  India,  282- 
284. 

Vritra,    a    mid-air    deity,    31. 

Wages  in  India,  105;  of  Christian 
Church  members,  259. 

Wahhabis,   118. 

Ward,   Rev.   R.   J.,  279. 

Ward,  William    172. 

War  horse,  effect  on  aborigines, 
25. 

Water-worship,  122. 

Weavers  of  India,    103. 

Wellesley,  Lord,  71. 

Wells  of  Benares,  sacred,  122, 
123. 

Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  a 
pioneer,  176. 

Wheel,  ;^iw  oi  thtj  47, 


INDEX 


329 


Whitehead,    Dr.,    288. 

Widowhood,   child,  94. 

Wild   tribes,   s2,   83. 

Wind  as  a   deity,  30. 

Women:  in  Vedic  times,  26,  27; 
in  Epic  Period,  37 :  early  life 
of.  yl,  92;  admired  and  hon- 
ored, 92,  93;  hard  life  of,  93: 
marriafiC  and  widowhood,  93, 
94;  common  lot  of,  94,  95;  in 
Burma,  95;  labors  in  the  vil- 
lj!{;es,  104  ;  worship  of  tulasi 
plant,  124;  influence  over  hus- 
band, 190;  higher  education  of, 
199,    200. 

Womanhood,  a  new  Christian, 
261-263;  notable  examples  of, 
262,    263. 

Woman's  work:  increase  of,  189: 
importance  of,  189,  190;  for  low 
castes,  190-193;  in  zenanas,  193: 
teaching  in  homes,  193,  194; 
medical   work  for,   204-206. 

Women's  Society  for  Christian 
Female    Education,    Berlin,    177. 

World's  Student  Christian  Fed- 
eration   Conference,   276. 

World's  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian  Association,    177,    214. 


Worship:  household,  105;  iu 
Hindu  temples,  132,  133;  not 
congregational,  133,  134;  spir- 
itual, 134;  in  the  home,  134, 
135. 

Xavier,  Francis,  154;  care  of 
souls,    247. 

Yajnavalkya,    Code    of,    60. 

Yajus-  Veda,  Black  and  White, 
.38. 

Yama :  a  terrestrial  deity,  32; 
his  heaven,  32,  33;  the  journey 
to,    125,    126. 

Yoga   system,    character  of,   146. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, 177,  214,  275;  hostels  of, 
238. 

Young  Men's  Hindu  Association, 
242. 

Zenana  system:  real  evil  of,  92; 
Mrs.  Bishop's  testimony  con- 
cerning, 93;  teaching  in  ze- 
nanas,   193. 

Ziegenbalg,    161-163. 

Zoolatry,    124. 

Zoroastrianism :   see  Parsees. 

Zumbro,    President,    272. 


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1    1012  00018  6942 


